Consumption and New Ways of Working for Sustainable Lifestyles

ECTS : 3

Description du contenu de l'enseignement :

This course delves into the contemporary transformations of consumption and work and how they impact consumer lifestyles. It draws upon insights from consumer culture, marketing, and organization studies to elucidate how evolving dynamics between consumption and work can foster more ecological ways of living.  

We will begin our journey by defining consumer lifestyles. Subsequently, we will explore the emergence of new ways of working and new ways of consuming, investigating their relationship with ecological consumer lifestyles.  

We will examine contexts and cases from coworking spaces, eco-districts, remote work arrangements, the sharing economy, urban foraging, part-time agricultural work and third places. Through this journey, we aim to unravel whether and how these phenomena contribute to the emergence of novel consumer lifestyles rooted in sustainability. 

Compétence à acquérir :

At the end of the module, students will be able to:  

1. Understand the evolving relationship between consumption and work, and explain how these changes shape contemporary consumer lifestyles. 
2. Develop their own opinion on the ecological implications of emerging work and consumption practices such as coworking, urban foraging, and the sharing economy. 
3. Apply key theoretical insights from consumer culture theory, marketing, and organization studies to real-world contexts and case studies. 
4. Collaborate in group projects to critically examine and propose strategies that foster more sustainable ways of living through the intersection of work and consumption. 
5. Reflect on their own lifestyles and articulate how personal and collective choices related to work and consumption can contribute to ecological transitions. 

Mode de contrôle des connaissances :

Group Project and Class Attendance 

Bibliographie, lectures recommandées :

Aroles, J., Bonneau, C., & Bhankaraully, S. (2023). Conceptualising ‘meta-work’in the context of continuous, global mobility: The case of digital nomadism.?Work, Employment and Society,?37(5), 1261-1278. 

Atanasova, A., Eckhardt, G. M., & Husemann, K. C. (2024). Liquid consumer security.?Journal of Consumer Research,?50(6), 1243-1264. 

Ehrnström-Fuentes, M., & Biese, I. (2023). The act of (de/re) growing: Prefiguring alternative organizational landscapes of socioecological transformations.?human relations,?76(11), 1739-1766. 

Ergene, S., & Calás, M. B. (2023). Becoming naturecultural: Rethinking sustainability for a more-than-human world.?Organization Studies,?44(12), 1961-1986. 

Gruen, A. (2017). Design and the creation of meaningful consumption practices in access-based consumption.?Journal of Marketing Management,?33(3-4), 226-243. 

Gruen, A., & Bardhi, F. (2025). Consumptive Work in Coworking: Using Consumption Strategically for Work.?Journal of Consumer Research, ucaf009. 

Wilson, A. V., & Bellezza, S. (2022). Consumer minimalism.?Journal of Consumer Research,?48(5), 796-816. 

Mimoun, L., & Gruen, A. (2021). Customer work practices and the productive third place.?Journal of Service Research,?24(4), 563-581. 

Wilson, A. V., & Bellezza, S. (2022). Consumer minimalism.?Journal of Consumer Research,?48(5), 796-816. 

Wolf, C. (2019). Not lost in translation: Managerial career narratives and the construction of protean identities.?Human Relations,?72(3), 505-533.