The Name and a Dress: a co-constructed narrative of the importance of place of origin in consumer perception

This autoethnographic paper combines ethnography, biography and the analysis of self in a paper which uses story-telling in a collaborative, co-constructed narrative. The stories focus on the personal experience of two researchers in the purchase of clothing of Jordanian origin, and the importance that place of origin has in our consumer behaviour decisions. The paper also uses community autoethnography, whereby the individual stories are commented upon by a third researcher to bring an objective view on the similarities and differences between the two stories. The findings relate to the socio-cultural implications of the importance of brand personality to self-concept and also incorporate the significance of place of origin.

Included in the findings from this exercise is the observation that brands from one’s own country are not perceived in the same, exotic light as items from other places of origin. Additionally, there is rich data within this piece of research which may provide insight into the female clothes-shopping experience.

The most interesting occurrence is that in the world of marketing and business management research, this type of approach is rarely used; however, it can elicit very rich data and important consumer insights in line with the recent developments in UX (user experience) ethnographic research.