Cultural Change from a Business Anthropology Perspective

In examining consumption in multiple parts of the world from multiple vantage points, Cultural Change from a Business Anthropology Perspective makes assemblages of usual silos and demonstrates how anthropologists conceive and influence design of products, technology, or policy near and afar. This volume theorizes how we, along with ideas, objects and built environments, are actors in outcomes. In so doing, the authors theorize trajectories of change and create space to contest and guide. A must read for anyone who contemplates present and future consumption. -- Rita Denny, PhD, Practica Group
Maryann McCabe and Elizabeth K. Briody present us with an outstanding approach of the study of cultural change at the everyday level that is not only academically enlightening but has intriguing applied potential. Through the lenses of business anthropology and globalization, the contributors of this book analyze the design, marketing, buying, and selling of products and services, as well as the considerable impacts of using them—contemporary anthropology at its best. -- Alexander Ervin, University of Saskatchewan; author of Cultural Transformations and Globalization: Theory, Development, and Social Change
Maryann McCabe and Elizabeth K. Briody are two of the most insightful and inspiring researchers in the field of business anthropology. In assembling this excellent collection of case studies they have demonstrated definitively that research in business and commercial settings is not only useful for the non-academic world, it also contributes significantly to academic research in anthropology. Anthropologists understand culture change—the theme of this book—better than any other social scientists or business specialists. This book demonstrates this expertise by presenting significant contributions to this field in a series of fascinating research efforts by leading business anthropologists. The studies in this collection will delight academics as well as practitioners in the business world who need above all to understand how social change occurs in order to stay abreast of the marketplace. It will also show students of anthropology the rich opportunities for exploring opportunities in the business world as a rich field sites for significant research into the nature of humanity. -- William O. Beeman, University of Minnesota
McCabe and Briody have created a cohesive collection of ethnographic cases that focus on cultural change through the lens of production and consumption. The chapters describe the interaction among consumers, corporations and nonprofit organizations in locations including the U.S., China, India, Cambodia and Nigeria. Using assemblage theory as the guiding theoretical perspective, the book is a valuable contribution to business anthropology and the anthropological study of global consumer society. -- Ann T. Jordan, University of North Texas