A journey to the authentic: Museum visitors and their negotiation of the inauthentic

This qualitative research was set within a literary heritage museum replete with replica artefacts. We explored how the inauthentic is negotiated in this context and examined the outcomes of these negotiations. Our research revealed that scene setting, freedom, and imagination contribute to visitors...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marketing management 2010-01, Vol.26 (7-8), p.686-705
Main Authors: Hede, Anne-Marie, Thyne, Maree
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authenticity
Consumers
Cultural authenticity
Cultural heritage
Imitations
inauthenticity
literary museum
Marketing
Museums
Negotiations
Qualitative research
Studies
Supply
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Summary:This qualitative research was set within a literary heritage museum replete with replica artefacts. We explored how the inauthentic is negotiated in this context and examined the outcomes of these negotiations. Our research revealed that scene setting, freedom, and imagination contribute to visitors' potential to overcome the absence of indexically authentic artefacts, and we identified a role for existential authenticity in this process. We make three key contributions to marketing theory on authenticity: (1) when visitors are confronted with the inauthentic, they often experience feelings of dissonance; (2) there is a need to consider the role of authenticity of the 'self' in consumption situations; and (3) there is a symbiotic relationship between indexical authenticity and iconic authenticity, and both are related to existential authenticity. We recommend that the arts and heritage sectors delve further into the processes that suppliers and consumers use to negotiate the inauthentic so that they may leverage the support they have from stakeholders and enhance their viability.
ISSN:0267-257X
1472-1376
DOI:10.1080/02672571003780106