Brand Management: Research, theory and practice

of a small sample of data is preferrable to the opposite. The participant researcher
may collect data incognito or may identify himself as he sees fit.
Understanding people in the ethnographic research tradition means under-
standing them in their own environment and from the perspective of the partici-
pants. In practice, this means that gaining a deep insight into the consumption
experiences in a supermarket requires the researcher to be present – in the actual
supermarket. If the researcher is subjected to the same consumption experience as
the consumer, this sharing of the consumption experience will enable a deeper and
more real understanding from the perspective of the subject investigated. The
focus on everyday behaviour therefore requires a presence in the natural setting of
the research participants.

The researcher needs to get close to the subjects of research. ‘Going native’ is a
term covering the ethnographic research ideal: to live in a certain environment long
enough to truly understand the social and cultural phenomena from an ‘insider
perspective’. One way to solve the insider/outsider dilemma is to team up in pairs,
where one researcher adopts an insider role while the other remains an outsider.

The community approach 193

Box 9.2 Getting too close?

In a three-year ethnographic study by Schouten and McAlexander (1995) of

the Harley Davidson subculture of consumption, the researchers started out

their fieldwork without any specific interest in the biker lifestyle. Their

immersion into the biker lifestyle had the consequence that they ended up

being motorcycle owners as well as enthusiasts living the lifestyle to the

fullest. Getting so fully immersed into the subcultural environment made

them ponder one of the classic dilemmas of ethnography: that of the

insider/outsider dilemma. Involvement in the social interaction in question –

‘going native’ – is a prerequisite for understanding the social processes taking

place, but over-involvement brings the researcher too close to the phenomena

of study to observe and transmit the facts of the research accurately.

SourceSchouten and McAlexander (1995)

Box 9.3 Solving the insider/outsider dilemma

Researchers Muñiz and Schau solved this dilemma quite easily when

researching the Apple Newton brand community. One researcher bought a

Newton and used it for writing the research article. He became the insider

participant, dependent on the Newton brand community for support in the

use of the abandoned (by the marketer) handheld assistant. The other

researcher took the outside position, ensuring objectivity in the study.

SourceMuñiz and Schau (2005)