The Definitions and Constructs of Consumer Empowerment in Marketing: A Review and a Way Forward

The focus of this article is to systematically and critically examine the extant consumer empowerment constructs in the marketing literature in order to provide a synthesis and guidelines that can help researchers in the field. To move the field forward, we need a “roadmap” that is broader (instead of narrowly focused on technology or customer participation in nPD) and that is able to integrate different theoretical and disciplinary standpoints on empowerment. The way managers think about power and empowerment will likely determine their companies’ strategic, cultural and tactical approach and consumers’ reaction to them. Conceptualizing and measuring empowerment in a limited way is doing a disservice to managers.