Consumer Job Journeys

Abstract

This article introduces the consumer job journey as a more holistic perspective by which to understand consumption journeys undertaken to acquire and use goods and services. It aids scholars and managers by helping make evident some key consumer decisions and behaviors that otherwise would be invisible. Four tenets lay the foundation for the concept of a consumer job journey, establishing some key differences relative to a traditional perspective on consumption journeys. A consumer job journey involves a sequence of goal-directed steps (and associated evaluative criteria) in pursuit of an overall job and the consumer actions directed by these steps to acquire, assemble, and integrate market and nonmarket resources. Propositions highlight the consumer’s role as an active project manager who continually adapts their resource configuration given job journey goal priorities, psychological tensions, and disruptions. In combination, the tenets and propositions highlight both research gaps and unique managerial implications.