Producing beauty ‘the hard way’: involuntary prosumption in a stigmatising context

Abstract

Traditionally, the literature indicates that consumers have acted as prosumers voluntarily and for hedonic or leisure motivations. Only a few studies contend that consumers engage in prosumption activities forcibly because of social or material constraints. Through 15 in-depth interviews and complementary secondary data, the present research aims to outline an involuntary form of prosumption and investigate its formation. Findings show that consumers are socially and ideologically convoked to become prosumers, even at times against their will, learning ‘the hard way’ how to produce. Our theoretical contribution lies in delineating involuntary prosumption in a context marked by stigma, social invisibility, and market constraints.