Customer Collective Consciousness in Collective Consumption Contexts: An Initial Conceptualization
(A2026-133068)

AUTHORS

Jianqing (Lavanda) Lao, University of Bristol; Eleonora Pantano, University of Bristol/University of Bristol; Nikolaos Stylos, University of Bristol

ABSTRACT

This research conceptualizes collective consciousness (CC) as customers’ conscious awareness of sharing an experience with others in collective consumption contexts. We investigate two questions: how CC can be theoretically defined and distinguished from adjacent constructs, and how it shapes customer engagement. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and qualitative research with consumers and experts, we refine the phenomenological basis of CC and identify its dual dimensions. The findings advance understanding of customer collective experience, which is an area increasingly emphasized in recent scholarship, and reveal the psychological mechanisms through which collective experience fosters value co-creation and consumer-to-consumer influence in collective consumption settings.