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1. Introduction
Ethnicity is a complex and controversial issue. It raises countless questions as to researchers' responsibility when making theoretical choices. Indeed, certain ethnicity theories date back to a colonial socio-political and ideological setting, and their dissemination as a result of research has had a profound impact on society. For example, through knowledge derived from the analysis of management practices, researchers in marketing[1] have effectively contributed to its reification. Once given this stamp of approval, these conceptions of the market are then taken up and amplified by both managers and political decision-makers alike. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate to researchers how important it is to question the theories and ideological beliefs underpinning their work. In this paper, we will study ethnic segmentation in marketing as a case example.
Postcolonial studies, as a part of the deconstructionist theory school of thought, have allowed us to critically reassess certain marketing practices. For example, ethnic segmentation based on so-called objective criteria is analysed by taking into consideration the colonial paradigms underpinning these criteria. The postcolonial approach allows for a better proximity to the subject so as to understand ethnicity from within. This approach might help develop new methodological tools that could be used in the Consumer Culture Theory (from now on, CCT) framework, in keeping with a de-compartmentalised view of the discipline. The paper proposes to go beyond the qualitative and ethnographic investigative techniques used in CCT today, by using new, effective methods devised by psychiatrists working with migrant patients from various cultures. The inventiveness of these practitioners is similar to that of postcolonial studies.
The paper is divided as follows: the second part presents the socio-political context in which research in ethnic marketing emerged in France; the third part will present the ethnicity theories and underlying paradigms; the fourth part will discuss the contribution of postcolonial studies to the study of ethnic consumers; and, finally, the conclusion will weigh up the issue and will propose to branch out to other consumer targets.
2. Research in ethnic marketing in France
Studies on ethnicity in marketing began in France in 2003, primarily with Hetzel's paper (2003), then with the ANR[2] funding of the ETHNOS group in 2005. Prior to this date, ethnicity was not...