Ethnography for Marketing and Consumer Research

Abstract

This is intended to assist researchers in employing ethnographic methods in marketing and consumer research. It is our response to the demands of practitioners, students, and academics who want to know more about ethnographic research, but who may not have had a formal training or exposure. Ethnographic research is an instantiation of what is sometimes referred to as interpretive research. Ethnography is increasingly used to explore marketing and consumer issues, designing products, services and systems that improve people’s daily lives. We offer a step-by-step approach to conducting ethnography in business and consumer settings with some examples. We also provide a framework and some general principles.