"God, I have so many ashtrays!" Dependences and dependencies in consumer-possession relationships

This study examines tourist souvenirs which are a typical example of special possessions that may convey deep meanings to consumers’ life. Prior studies assume that consumers have enduring and stable relationships with these possessions because of the latter’s role in identity construction and maintenance. They tend to neglect the influence of passing time and moving spaces on such relationships. They also fail to provide a network perspective by predominantly focusing on the consumer-possession’s dyad. This research aims to bring a holistic and dynamic perspective to the relationships between consumers and their special possessions, referring to Hodder’s concepts of entanglement (dependence) and entrapment (dependency). In a naturalistic interpretive perspective, we follow consumers’ tourist possessions through the three stages of their consumption cycle, that is, acquisition, consumption, and disposal. Findings suggest that consumers may not only develop enduring relationships with their tourist possessions but also liquid ones, depending on whether they are in entangled or entrapped situations. Relationships are ‘liquid’ in the sense that they are temporary, more detached, and less special.