Repertory grid technique – An interpretive research framework

Abstract

Examines some of the underlying assumptions, research objectives and practical applications of the repertory grid technique (RGT) in consumer research. It explains why the use and evaluation of the RGT should be grounded in the assumptions of the theory from which it derives, George Kelly’s personal construct psychology (PCP), and examines the way in which it is both congruent with and can contribute to the development of the emerging interpretive paradigm in consumer research. The specific questions that the RGT can help to answer about consumer behaviour experience are identified and illustrated with the findings from a short empirical study. Overall, it is argued that when the RGT is employed within the guidelines of PCP it provides a useful interpretive research framework for exploring some of the similarities and differences in the content and structure of consumers’ subjective meaning systems.