Gamble, J. (2007) The rhetoric of the consumer and customer control in China. Work, Employment & Society, 21 (1).
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This article explores the extent to which the rhetoric of the sovereign consumer and the use of the customer as a device of managerial control have been transferred to the subsidiaries of multinational retail firms operating in China. Based upon data drawn from over 200 interviews conducted at UK and Japanese multi-nationals' stores, in this rapidly internationalizing context it was evident that the notion of the sovereign consumer was ubiquitous and procedures designed to inculcate management by customers or consumer control had been implemented. However, it was equally apparent that the rhetoric of the consumer not only served managerial ends, but also provided a rich and fertile resource for shopfloor workers. Meaningful, socially embedded relationships could also play a crucial role in transactions. Moreover, with respect to discipline and control, employees were fully aware that power lay with their managers, rather than disembodied consumers or even actual customers.
This is a Submitted version This version's date is: 2007 This item is not peer reviewed
https://repository.royalholloway.ac.uk/items/e9400e90-9f81-823c-f40d-f822f2cc6f9c/5/
Deposited by Research Information System (atira) on 03-Jul-2014 in Royal Holloway Research Online.Last modified on 03-Jul-2014
Copyright 2007 Sage Publications. The eprint is the author's final draft.