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(Un)saving face, or the designer face as a new consumer commodity

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  • Kniazeva, Maria
  • Babicheva, Eva

Abstract

The designer face as a new consumer commodity is a focus of this work. By venturing into the global marketplace of elective plastic surgery, the authors aim to develop a concept of the face in the consumer behavior discipline. “What is the face?” – is the fundamental research question. What makes the face the site of voluntary alteration? How do marketing forces drive the mainstream embrace of surgical correction of facial features as a commercial commodity, similar to shoes? This study takes place in South Korea, a nation that places a strong metaphorical value on the face and has historically developed the honor-centered concept of “saving face” as a guiding principle of life. Specifically study examines the normative function of advertising as presented in street billboards. Results show a transition occurring for the face's major functions and highlight emerging newer functions - the face as a mask and the face as fashion.

Suggested Citation

  • Kniazeva, Maria & Babicheva, Eva, 2017. "(Un)saving face, or the designer face as a new consumer commodity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 143-148.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:74:y:2017:i:c:p:143-148
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.10.026
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Adriana Grigorescu & Amalia-Elena Ion, 2022. "Qualitative Analysis of Sustainability and Innovation Within the Luxury Business Sector," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 3150-3171, December.
    2. Grigorescu Adriana & Ion Amalia Elena, 2020. "Innovation and product management – The direction of the 21st century luxury market," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 1035-1045, July.

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