Routledge Handbook of Identity and Consumption

"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are," said Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Today, "You are what you consume" is more apt. Barbara Krueger’s ironic twist of Descartes – "I shop therefore I am" – has lost its irony. Such phrases have become commonplace descriptions of our identity in the contemporary world. In our materialistic world, it seems as if there is no debate that our consumption behavior is fused with our self-identity – shaping it, changing it, and often challenging it.

The Routledge Handbook of Identity and Consumption introduces the reader to state-of-the-art research, written by the world’s leading scholars regarding the interplay between identity and consumption. The book addresses the diverse issues regarding the ways identity affects our consumption behaviour and vice-versa and in doing so presents a broad perspective on the dynamics of self-identity and consumption.

With chapters discussing the theory, research, and practical implications of these dynamics, including the way they change across our life span and their expression within different social, cultural, and religious contexts, this book will be a valuable reference source for students and academics from a variety of disciplines.

Ayalla Ruvio is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University. Her area of expertise is in the psychology of consumer behaviors, which focuses on issues such as identity and consumption, material vs. experiential consumption, and consumer arrogance. Her research has been published in top journals, including the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Harvard Business Review. She is the co-editor of the volume on "Consumer Behavior" in the International Encyclopedia of Marketing and the “Consumer Behavior” textbook. Her research has been featured in numerous media outlets worldwide, including CNN, the TODAY show, Good Morning America, TIME magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, The Washington Post, Consumer Reports, The Daily Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Telegraph, and the Toronto STAR.

Russell W. Belk is York University Distinguished Research Professor, Royal Society of Canada Fellow, and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University. His research involves the extended self, meanings of possessions, collecting, gift giving, sharing, digital consumption, and materialism. This work is primarily qualitative and is often conceptual, visual, and cultural. He co-initiated the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) Film Festival, the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) Conference, and the Consumer Behavior Odyssey. He is the past president and fellow of ACR and has over 800 publications. He has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Sheth/JCR Award for Long Term Contribution to Consumer Research, 2005. In 2012, a 10-volume compendium with discussions of his work was published in the Sage Legends in Consumer Behavior series. In 2023, he received an honorary doctorate from Université de Reims with a festschrift in his honor.