Market-oriented ethnography revisited

This article discusses and illustrates the benefits of an approach to market-oriented ethnographic research that leads to insights somewhat different than those provided by two dominant approaches in applied ethnography. Our approach privileges relationships and participation in relatedness as the object of analysis. This contrasts with the macro-level approach of trying to "get inside the consumer's head" and also contrasts with micro-level approaches that narrowly focus on "the consumer's feelings about my brand." The insights our meso-level approach provides are enhanced understanding of the place of firm-provided resources (products, services, symbols, slogans, environments, etc.) in the conduct of everyday consumers' lives in consumer centric marketspaces. We illustrate our meso-level approach drawing on an empirical illustration of homemade food preparation and related managerial opportunities.