Drawing on Berman’s (1972, 1988) political-cultural view of creativity, this thesis contextualizes consumer creativity in the context of a consumer community wrought with paradoxes and conflicts. Adopting a netnography methodology and empirically examining how individual free/open source software (FOSS) community members interpret their own creative activities, this thesis finds that consumer creativity is a journey toward a moral destiny, with morality arising from the interplay between rationalism and Romanticism and the cultural, historical baggage of these two ideological systems (e.g., sexism in the domains of science and art). Along this journey, individual FOSS community members (i.e., FOSS programmers) co-create and negotiate their common identity—a craftsperson who is a scientist, artist, and moral warrior, an identity embodied by FOSS, their creative product and a form of technology. This journey is both sweet and bitter and full of paradoxes and conflicts, all of which have rich implications about the power relationships within the community. On the one hand, FOSS programmers recreate a mythologized paradise where they re-merge with the natural world and return to human nature and where they are re-actualizing the moral values of freedom, public interests, and egalitarianism. On the other hand, in this community, sexism against female programmers is rampant; some programmers could perceive that their creativity is constrained and exploited by powerful project owners and thereby feel alienated, frustrated, and trivialized; individual programmers could confront each other due to their different technological preferences and doubt each other’s motivations; and this community’s creative process is infused with politics. This thesis (1) enriches the marketing literature on consumer creativity which is dominated by an instrumental perspective of creativity by introducing the moral dimension of consumer creativity; (2) contributes to the marketing literature which is dominated by the view that the creative process is enjoyable and harmonious by examining paradoxes and conflicts in the creative process; and (3) enriches the marketing literature on the impact of technology on human well-being and the natural environment by illustrating a contextualized view that the impact of a technology depends on the moral values of the creator and the user of this technology. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2010-11-30 15:14:49.068

Creative behaviors are part of an average consumer's everyday life. For example, amateur people buy various art and craft supplies from stores like Michael's, purchase studio time to make pottery, and collect camera accessories to help demonstrate their originality in photography. Usually the final creative product can be preserved for a long period of time. These creative activities are avidly pursued primarily because they provide consumers with enjoyment and a sense of fulfillment. I am coining the term "creation-oriented consumption" to refer to this phenomenon, which is one specific type of creative consumption.Terror management theory is used to examine why people engage in creation-oriented consumption. I hypothesize that mortality salience boosts the intention to engage in creation-oriented consumption; and under mortality salience, weakened afterlife belief increases the intention for this type of consumption.Three experimental studies are conducted, each adopting a somewhat different perspective. Study 1 gauges intention to engage in creation-oriented consumption against inaction. It finds that mortality salience increases interest in creation-oriented consumption; and that under mortality salience, weakened afterlife belief increases interest in creation-oriented consumption. Study 2 examines durable creation-oriented consumption's appeal relative to other activities, namely, non-creative activities and creative consumption that does not leave durable traces. The proposed effect of mortality salience is observed only when individuals possess a low level of chronic afterlife belief. Unexpectedly, interest in creative consumption is reduced under mortality salience. Consistent with study 1, study 2 finds that under mortality salience, weakened afterlife belief raises interest in creation-oriented consumption. Study 3 replicates the finding of study 2 that mortality salience dampens general interest in creativity. Taken together, these studies suggest that although creation-oriented consumption ameliorates existential anxiety, it is not the most effective one in the short term.Apart from the major hypotheses, this dissertation also investigates some boundary conditions. Two of the three studies find that the question of whether creative consumption leaves a durable trace is of significance.

abstract: This interpretive research examines the phenomenon of people who engage in designing for themselves in a world in which this is no longer necessary. For in this Schumpeterian society – one can simply purchase from a plethora of products and services that are designed by professionals, generated by producers, and made available for purchase via a myriad of channels. So why do people bother designing for ourselves? Drawing on in-depth interviews, this research provides insights into individuals who choose to participate in the design process. The findings that follow are from a representative study of individuals who recently were involved in designing their home kitchen. Results show that by engaging in design endeavors these informants received not only instrumental value (speed, efficiency) and economic value (money saved), but also socio-psychological value (signaling identity, desire for uniqueness) and transcendental value (joy, wonder, satisfaction). Framing these findings according to three foundational design actions – using, ideating, and making, the researcher developed a segmentation typology of the multi-faceted roles that people play in the act of designing. This study contributes to the existing literature by: (1) broadening the dyadic perspectives of provider and consumer roles in the realization of a design outcome; (2) revealing that when one engages in designing a desired outcome they create a deeper, more authentic, and abiding signaler of self than when we purchase what we seek; (3) extending design theory beyond the prevailing view that embeds the value of a design in outcome – the tool; and humans as homer faber, tool makers. Managerial and design practice implications offer specific suggestions for building and nurturing people in their design endeavors. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Design 2015