Understanding Consumers' Relationships with ...

Understanding Consumers’ Relationships with Contemporary Artworks through Identity Narratives Georgia Stavraki School of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Journal of Service Theory and Practice 26 (6), p. 811-836, 2016 https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/JSTP-02-2015-0024 Abstract Purpose: This paper focuses on the relationships that consumers develop with experiential objects in the context of the Biennale of Contemporary Art Exhibition, viewed from a dialogical and intersubjective approach. The aim is to elaborate on the interpersonal relationships that visitors of the Biennale establish with contemporary artworks and to understand the characteristics of these relationships as well as their role in shaping Biennale visitors’ identity narratives. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research employs an instrumental case study that draws on multiple data sources and examines consumers’ relationships with contemporary artworks. Findings: The case study evidence introduces the relationships that emerged from Biennale visitors’ interactions with contemporary artworks and the identity narratives evolving from these relationships. The findings suggest that Biennale visitors’ relationships with the contemporary artworks take the form of I-thou and I-it relationships. These two modes of interpersonal relationships by entailing different characteristics led investigated visitors to live different types of experiences of contemporary art consumption. Research Limitations: The first limitation of this research is that it focuses on the establishment of interpersonal relationships on the microgenetic level. Further research can provide additional insights by conducting a longitudinal case study. The second limitation is that it provides limited insights into the relationships that are revealed by consumers’ experiences with possessive objects. Future research may examine interpersonal relationships in terms of consumers’ relationships with their brands. Practical Implications: The understanding of visitors’ interactions and relationships with contemporary artworks provides insights on curatorial and marketing practices for such art institutions. Originality: The findings of the current research provide new theoretical insights into the interpersonal relationships that consumers develop with experiential objects and into the distinctive identity narratives that evolve from the establishment of different types of interpersonal relationships. Keywords: Contemporary Art, Experiential Services, Dialogical Self Theory, Interpersonal Relationships, Identity Narratives. Acknowledgments: The author would like to thank the Contemporary Art Centre for its hospitality and all the Biennale visitors who graciously and willingly participated in this research. In addition, the author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive comments. Financial support from the Research Committee of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece is gratefully acknowledged.

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1. Introduction The role of consumption in shaping consumers’ identities as well as their identity narratives has been an important topic in consumer behavior literature (e.g. Ahuvia, 2005; Belk, 1988; Escalas and Bettman, 2000; Fournier, 1998; Kleine et al., 1995). Within this context, a great number of consumer researchers has demonstrated the relationships that consumers develop with possessions (Belk, 1988), loved objects (Ahuvia, 2005), brands (Fournier, 1998; refer to Patterson and O’Malley, 2006) and luxury products (Hemetsberger et al., 2012) in their attempts to shape their identity narratives and (re)construct their identities through consumption. Despite this major interest in the study of consumers’ relationships with objects that can be purchased and possessed, limited research has illuminated the relationships that consumers develop with experiential products, namely with products that have immaterial value and cannot be possessed, in order to (re)shape their personal lifeworlds (Chen, 2009; cf. Garzaniti et al. 2011; Manthiou et al. 2014). According to Chen (2009), contemporary art experiences (e.g. consumers’ visits in an art gallery) and possessions (e.g. a painting that is purchased by a collector) constitute two different modes of consumption, that reconstruct consumers’ identities differently. Following this distinction, the current article concentrates on the relationships that consumers develop with products that can be viewed and admired (instead of being purchased) at experiential service settings. In this context, earlier research on experiential consumption (Arnould and Price, 1993; Carú and Cova, 2007; Celsi et al., 2003) and experiential services (e.g. Bigné et al., 2008; Carú and Cova, 2005; cf. Vargo and Lusch, 2008) while highlights the importance of consumers’ interactions with services and experiential products, it has mainly concentrated on the influence of these interactions on the reconstruction and extension of consumers’ identities without illustrating the relationships that consumers develop with experiential products in order to reshape their lifeworlds. Additionally, a call for investigating consumers’ relationships with experiential products has been discussed in previous consumer and services marketing research (Bigné et al., 2008; Chen, 2009; Kleine and Baker, 2004; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2004, 2009; Vargo and Lusch, 2008) in order to understand how the meaning evolving from these relationships creates meaningful, satisfactory and (even) different types of service experiences. According to these earlier studies, consumers’ relationships with experiential objects are conceived as interpersonal relationships, namely as relationships that emerge from the interaction that occurs between an I (i.e. consumer) and an Other (i.e. experiential objects) (Hermans et al., 1992). Such relationships concentrate on the encounters that disclose consumers’ identities and shape their interpretations of consumption of experiential services. Viewed in this light, interpersonal relationships reveal the form of communication that shapes consumers’ interactions with experiential objects and further understanding on how experiential objects instill meaning to consumers’ experiences and identities (Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). The purpose of this study is to elaborate on the interpersonal relationships that consumers establish with experiential objects in order to provide insights into consumption of experiential services (Chan, 2009; cf. Fournier, 1998; Mead, 1934). The focus is to understand the characteristics of these relationships and their role in shaping consumers’ identity narratives evolving from consumption of experiential services (i.e. contemporary art experiences). This study uses two frameworks in order to clarify understanding of the 2

interpersonal relationships, namely Hermans, Kempen and van Loon’s (1992) theory of dialogical self and Buber’s (1958) discussion of interpersonal relationships. Dialogical self theory argues that individuals’ identities as social constructs interact with real or imaginal Others (e.g. parents, the hero of a novel, a painting). Through this interaction, Others can enter individuals’ self-spaces and thus, to become “an essential part of individuals’ narrative construction of the world” (Hermans et al., 1992, p. 28). Buber’s (1958) conceptualization of interpersonal relationships proposes that there are two basic worlds with which individuals relate with an Other, namely the I-thou and I-it mode. These modes of interpersonal relationships move beyond the individualities of the partners in a relationship and emphasize the actions (i.e. sharing or participating) that happen in the between (emphasis added) of a relation (Theunissen, 1984). In order to address the purpose of the study, the current research employs a single deep case study (Dyer and Wilkins, 1991) of an experiential service context, namely the Biennale of Contemporary Art Exhibition hosted in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2011. The field of contemporary art was chosen because of the dialogical nature of consumers’ encounters with contemporary artworks (Kester, 1999), which emphasizes the interpersonal relationships (i.e. I and Other) that are developed between the consumer (I) and the consumption object/subject (i.e. artist/artwork, Other) (Danto, 1981; Gadamer, 1993). To illuminate, experiences of contemporary art constitute an instrumental case of consumption experiences, in which consumers are engaged into communicative encounters with the artworks in the course of accessing the experience and (re)enacting their identities (Chen, 2009; Jyrämä and Äyväri, 2009; McCracken, 2005; cf. Thompson, 1997). Through these communicative encounters interpersonal relationships are established between the consumer (I) and the artist/artwork1 (Other) and which (i.e. interpersonal relationships) by pulling consumers “outward into a world of experience” (McCracken, 2005, p. 143) can (re)shape their personal lifeworlds. The current study unravels the interpersonal relationships through which visitors of the Biennale exhibition related to contemporary artworks and shows the characteristics of these relationships which formed these visitors’ interactions with the artworks. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the formation of distinctive modes of interpersonal relationships shaped Biennale visitors’ identity narratives and resulted in a variety of experiences of contemporary art consumption. This study thus extends previous work in two main ways. First, it adds additional insights into earlier consumer research that has investigated the relationships that consumers develop with objects that can be purchased and possessed (e.g. Ahuvia, 2005; Chen, 2009; Fournier, 1998; Ji, 2002). These earlier studies by concentrating on these types of objects highlight the relationships that characterize a particular mode of consumption, namely possession (Chen, 2009). This study, by focusing on the relationships that are developed between consumers and experiential objects, provides the relationships that refer to another mode of consumption that of consumption experiences (Chen, 2009). Second, it extends previous work that has examined the relationship between aesthetic experiences and identity. Until now research on aesthetic experiences while has discussed the dialogical and 1

The current research does not distinguish the artist from the artwork, since an artwork communicates a sense of its creator intent and essence. Thus, during an aesthetic experience viewers perceive the world of the artwork as well as the world of its creator (Mitias, 1988).

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interpersonal nature of viewers’ interaction with aesthetic objects, it has mainly focused on the co-productive dimension of these experiences (Carú and Cova, 2005; Roald, 2008; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009) and on their transformative potential (Chen, 2009; Falk, 2009; McCracken, 2005; Venkatesh and Meamber, 2006). This study brings to the fore the distinctive identity narratives that emerge from Biennale visitors’ establishment of different types of interpersonal relationships with contemporary artworks. These identity narratives by manifesting a diversity of aesthetic experiences (i.e. transformation and preservation) enlighten Biennale visitors’ post-consumption evaluations of their experiences that are reflected on relationships and identity (Arnould and Price, 1993) rather than on satisfaction, feelings and attitude toward an experiential service (e.g. Bigné et al., 2008). The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The next section elaborates on the theoretical underpinnings of the current study, namely dialogical self theory and modes of interpersonal relationships. Then, the author presents the case study methodology and discusses the findings of the research. The last two sections summarize the main contributions, discuss the limitations of the present study and propose directions for further research. 2. Theoretical background 2.1 Dialogical self theory Dialogical self theory relies on the Jamesian distinction between the “I” (self as knower) and the “Me” (self as known) and on Bakhtin’s metaphor of polyphonic novel (Hermans et al., 1992). This theory moves beyond the continuity of the Jamesian self (i.e. existence of a single core self), and approaches the study of the identity from an intersubjective and dialogical perspective. The intersubjective perspective posits that one’s identity always emerges with reference to an Other (i.e. other people and/or objects) (Salgado and Hermans, 2005). The dialogical perspective stresses that dialogue plays an essential role in the process of identity construction and it suggests that individuals shape their identities through dialogical interactions with an Other, namely with other people/objects who/which are significant to them [individuals] (Hermans, 2001, 2004). These people/objects, labelled as external positions, are conceived as relying outside individuals’ identities and considered as autonomous beings with their own story to tell, i.e. as another I. This viewpoint signals that the Other, “rather than being an extension of the self on the object level, is a person like myself or is an object with person-like qualities (e.g. a piece of art, which “speaks” to you)” (Hermans, 2003, p. 103). This theoretical upgrading of the Other as another I, proposes that an Other can be known by individuals through dialogical encounters. That is, an Other is able to express its own perspectives and to invite into dialogue the perspectives of individuals (Hermans, 1996). Through these interpersonal dialogues the Other is perceived as having a “spatially separated position” (Hermans et al., 1992, p. 28), namely the Other by being able to have its own narrative voice can enter individuals’ private self-spaces (e.g. the voice of a model that someone imaginary hears during the purchase of a specific brand) (Hermans, 1996). In this way, Others can be mirrored as “additional” positions in individuals’ identities (Hermans, 1996) and by doing so, they become part of individuals’ narratives. Moreover, these narrative voices of Others by participating in the creation of individuals’ narratives may either 4

challenge the meanings of individuals’ identities and lead to novel dispositions and actions or may fail to “mess up” individuals’ identities and as such, to result in the preservation of past identity meanings (Hermans, 2003; Beech, 2008). 2.2 Modes of interpersonal relationships “All reality [knowing persons and/or things in their particularity] is an activity in which I share without being able to appropriate for myself. Where there is no sharing, there is no reality” (Buber, 1965) In the aforementioned quote, Buber summarizes his philosophy regarding existence. Core theme of his philosophy is the state of relation. According to Buber (1958), individuals and/or things exist only in relation to other things and/or individuals. The development of relationships between individuals and things is essential in order individuals to share (i.e. to give and take behavior), to live, to perceive and to grow. Thus, Buber argues that through these interpersonal relationships individuals are able to meet both their internal consciousness and the consciousness of the Other (e.g. other individuals, objects). According to Buber (1958; 1965), there are two modes of interpersonal relationships, i.e. the I-thou and I-it mode, through which individuals relate with other individuals, objects and experiences. The I-thou relationship represents a dialogical encounter between two subjects (e.g. I to I) and is a relationship that instead of being grounded in the realm of subjectivity is being positioned in the realm of between (i.e. actions that happen in the between of a relationship) (Theunissen, 1984). In this encounter an I (e.g. consumer) turns outward toward an Other (i.e. something other than consumer’s identity) and confronts this Other in its particularity. As such, the Other becomes the thou of the I, namely the I accepts the Other in its wholeness, approaches the Other without a purpose and encounters this Other in the present (Cooper, 2003; Theunissen, 1984). Within this encounter, the I develops a genuine dialogue with the Other and by doing so, the I speaks not about the Other, but with the Other. Within this dialogue, the I meets the Other’s viewpoint and experiences the world of reality in terms of the otherness (i.e. the reality of the Other). In contrast, the I-it relationships represent an experience between a subject and an object (i.e. I to Me). In this experience an I (e.g. consumer) turns inward and uses the Other as the object of his/her purpose (e.g. I perceive and sense something). As such, the I experiences the Other in pre-defined schemata (instead of relating to the other in the present) and distances himself/herself from the otherness of the Other. Within this monological interaction, the I by turning away from the Other is engaged into a monologue (Bakhtin, 1984; Theunissen, 1984). Through this monologue, the I perceives the reality through an existing viewpoint and fails to meet the alternative reality of the Other. 2.3 Synthesis of the two frameworks In the above two sections, the two frameworks, namely dialogical self theory (Hermans et al., 1992) and Buber’s (1958) conceptualization of interpersonal relationships, which the author uses in order to inform her arguments are illustrated. Crucial notions of each of the aforementioned frameworks (i.e. the concepts of dialogue and Other) have been employed by previous research on aesthetic experiences (e.g. Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Kester, 1999; Mead, 1934) in order to highlight and theorize facets of individuals’ 5

relationships and interactions with artworks. For instance, earlier research on viewers’ interactions with contemporary artworks by highlighting the discursive and intersubjective nature of these interactions argues that viewers perceive, experience and respond to contemporary artworks in a dialogical manner (Becker, 2000; Bourriaud, 1998; Bruder and Ucok, 2000; Chen, 2009; Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Kester, 1999). While these studies disclose the role of dialogue in interpreting and identifying with experiences of contemporary art, they do not address the interpersonal relationships that are established between viewers and contemporary artworks. Additionally, other scholars (e.g. Mead, 1934; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009) conceptualize viewers’ dialogical interactions with (contemporary) artworks as interpersonal relationships, within which “an important part of the aesthetic experience lies” (Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009, p. 185). According to these scholars, interpersonal relationships emphasize that subjectivity emerges through a dialogical interaction with an Other (i.e. the I not in me, Mead, 1934) and as such, provide an understanding into how individuals’ subjective actions of sense-making and identification with experiences of contemporary art are forged (Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). As such, each of the aforementioned two frameworks has contributed to the development of an understanding regarding the nature of viewers’ interactions and relationships with the artworks. However, to the best of author’s knowledge, these frameworks have never been applied together in the context of consumers’ relationships with contemporary artworks. Thus, these two frameworks together help to synthesize the insights emerged from the aforementioned previous studies and by so doing, to illuminate the relationships that evolve from consumers’ interactions with artworks in a service process as well as to demonstrate the role of these relationships in (re)shaping consumers’ identity narratives (Bakhtin, 1984; Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). Moreover, the synthesis of these two frameworks allows for investigating not only the dialogical interaction that occurs between consumers’ and artworks but also the monological interaction (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010), which is under-developed in the relevant literature. Particularly, while the extant literature acknowledges dialogical interactions to occur between viewers and contemporary artworks, paradoxically does not discuss the monological interactions that may influence these encounters. Monologue like dialogue constitutes a form of communication, that allows individuals to interact with an Other in a self-reflective manner, namely that individuals through this interaction reflect on their personal worlds instead of grasping the world of the Others (Buber, 1958; Cooper, 2003). Figure 1 represents the synthesis of the aforementioned two frameworks that the author of this article uses in order to investigate the interpersonal relationships that consumers develop with contemporary artworks during their consumption of an experiential service. [Figure 1 Here] 3. Research method 3.1 The case study research approach In order to meet the purpose of the study, i.e. to investigate the interpersonal relationships that consumers establish with experiential objects within an experiential service context, the 6

author employed an instrumental case study of the 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art Exhibition, hosted in Greece in 2011. An instrumental case study is the detailed examination of a specific case (i.e. the Biennale exhibition in the current research) which serves as an illustration of a wider phenomenon (i.e. consumers’ establishment of interpersonal relationships with experiential objects) (Stake, 2005). Instrumental case studies provide in-depth contextual description of a particular phenomenon (Welch et al., 2011) which is necessary in order researchers to gain insights and understanding of the phenomenon under consideration. Thus, the Biennale of Contemporary Art Exhibition served as an instrumental case for gaining insights into informants’ interactions with contemporary artworks/artists as well as into the characteristics of these interactions and their role in shaping informants’ identity narratives evolving from their Biennale experiences. The research was conducted in the Contemporary Art Centre, the contemporary art museum that organized the 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale exhibition. Biennale exhibitions represent major international art events that are held every two years in different cities all around the world and are periodic exhibitions, namely they last for a few months (Rodner et al., 2011). Art Biennales, as major cultural events, differ from other art spaces, such as museums, by constituting alternative spaces of display for contemporary exhibits. Specifically, many museums collect, preserve and display artworks (Rentschler and Gilmore, 2002), which are characterized by artistic values and practices that correspond with each museum’s history and mission (Gielen, 2009; Mathur, 2005). In contrast, art Biennales exceed this institutional characteristic of museum exhibitions and are dedicated to promote and display artistic innovation (Gielen, 2009). In this context, the 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of contemporary art represented a major contemporary art event, in terms of hosting and promoting innovative artistic styles (e.g. distinctive forms and kinds of artistic activity) that feature the characteristics of contemporary culture. The main program of the Thessaloniki Biennale was titled “A rock and a hard place” and reflected the current social, political and economic conditions of the Mediterranean region. The 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art lasted for three months (i.e. from September of 2011 until December 2011) and admission was free to the public. The Contemporary Art Centre, i.e. the setting in which the current research was conducted, included various forms of contemporary exhibits (e.g. video art, land art, installations) that were created by both renowned and emerging contemporary artists. The controversial, theatrical and aesthetically revolutionary features of the Biennale exhibition, invited viewers to act as interlocutors for the Biennale artworks in order to decipher and coconstruct the meanings of the artworks. Biennale viewers could act as interlocutors for the artworks by engaging themselves into an internal conversation, in the form of question and answer, with the exhibited artworks (e.g. “Why does the artist choose to portray this?”, “probably he wants to emphasize the paradox of human life”) (Vessey, 2000). Indeed, Biennale artworks were created in such a manner that aimed at invoking viewers to question and reflect on their content and meanings with the overall goal to turn viewers into cocreators of the sense and the intention of the artworks (Colombo et al., 2011). Apart from this “inherent” dialogical nature of the Biennale exhibition, manifested in its aforementioned features, each Biennale artwork exhibited at the Contemporary Art Centre was accompanied by a label, namely by extra information about the artwork, such as its title, the name of its 7

artist and a very brief description of the meaning of the artwork, so as to (further) ease viewers’ encounters with the artworks. This facilitation of communication between the audience and the diverse Biennale artworks encouraged viewers to discern the viewpoints of the artists/artworks in order for viewers to experience meaningful relationships with the artworks (Colombo et al., 2011). 3.2 Data collection The case study evidence included solicited reflective diaries and in-depth interviews of 36 visitors of the Biennale from different demographic backgrounds (table 1) (Polkinghorne, 2005; Thompson et al., 1994). These informants were selected in order to maximize nuances associated with the interpersonal relationships through which Biennale visitors’ related to contemporary artworks as well as the characteristics of these relationships (cf. Fournier, 1998; Joy and Sherry, 2003). The visitor sample included 21 female and 15 male participants. These participants ranged from 20 years of age to 60 years of age, with median age 28 years. Nineteen (19) of the participants related to the Biennale artworks in an I-thou mode, and seventeen (17) of the participants related to the Biennale artworks in an I-it mode. Informants were approached within the research field (i.e. Contemporary Art Centre) and were invited to participate on a voluntary basis in the research process. All participants of the current research visited the exhibition individually. [Table 1 Here] Initially, informants were subjected to an in-depth interview in a quiet place inside the Contemporary Art Centre. This method was chosen because of its power to produce rich descriptions of individuals’ lived experiences (Kvale, 1996; Thompson et al., 1989). The interviews were structured in two parts. The first part was based on questions concerning informants’ personal lifeworlds (e.g. description of how they see themselves, their backgrounds, their interests, their previous experiences with contemporary art) (Ji, 2002). The second part was based on questions about their experiences and interactions with the Biennale artworks/artists (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010). The interviews were open-ended in that the author asked Biennale visitors to elaborate freely on facets of the phenomena under investigation (Kvale, 1996). Interviews lasted between 60 and 90 minutes. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Next, informants were invited to keep a diary in which they would narrate their interactions with the contemporary artworks during their Biennale experiences (Fournier, 1998; Ji, 2002). Informants were asked to describe in their narratives the feelings and thoughts that were revealed during their interactions with the Biennale artworks (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010); the perspectives of the Biennale artworks/artists; the possible agreements and/or disagreements between themselves and the perspectives of the exhibited artworks (cf. Bahl and Milne, 2010; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009); what they felt and did when these agreements and/or disagreements took place; and what the Biennale experience of contemporary art meant to them (Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). Participants were encouraged to freely use their own terms and expressions so as to allow the researcher to access informants’ understandings on their encounters with the artworks (Orbuch, 1997). Informants were invited to keep the diary for up to one week and to return it to the researcher via email. This short time period of diary keeping ensured that participants would be able to 8

recall and access as many as possible characteristics of the relationships that they established with contemporary artworks (cf. Patterson, 2005). All diaries were written on an electronic format and their length ranged from 1000 to 1500 words. 3.3 Data analysis and interpretation In order to analyze the qualitative accounts, the author was engaged in an active re-reading of each interview and diary, and coded them by employing the method of in vivo coding (Saldaña, 2009; Spiggle 2004). Next, the author created narrative summaries for each interview and diary so as to capture the richness of informants’ personal lifeworlds (cf. Kramp, 2004; Riessman, 2002). These narrative summaries entailed an elaborative synopsis of informants’ encounters with the contemporary artworks. Next, the narrative summaries were analyzed by employing different methods of analysis (i.e. positioning microanalysis and narrative analysis). The narrative summaries that emerged from informants’ interviews were analyzed by employing the method of narrative analysis (Riessman, 2002; Tsoukas and Hatch, 2001). Narrative analysis was conducted in order to identify the characteristics of visitors’ reflections both on their experiences and on their relationships that they established with the artworks. The identification of these characteristics involved the exploration of the positioning of the narrator (i.e. who sees and who says) in relation to the story told (Hermans, 2003) and the investigation of visitors’ descriptions of their relationships with the artworks/artists (e.g. confirmation or disconfirmation of the perspectives of the artworks/artists). The narrative summaries that were developed by participants’ diaries were analyzed by employing the method of positioning microanalysis (Salgado et al., 2013). This method was conducted in order to discern informants’ communicative acts (i.e. monologue or dialogue) with the artworks/artists and the characteristics of these acts, namely to identify who is speaking (the agent), to whom (addressees) and how (modes of interpersonal relationships). Drawing on the emergent patterns of characteristics of interpersonal relationships and on the existing literature (Buber, 1958; Cooper, 2003; Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Theunissen, 1984) the author specified in each narrative summary the modes of Biennale visitors’ interpersonal relationships (i.e. I-thou and I-it) with the artworks (Spiggle, 1994). Furthermore, an iterative intertextual reading (Thompson, 1997) across the narrative summaries facilitated a holistic understanding of the characteristics of the I-thou and I-it modes of interpersonal relationships. In the final data analysis phase, the author identified two different types of identity narratives, i.e. co-authored and dominated identity narratives, that were generated by informants’ establishment of I-thou and I-it modes of interpersonal relationships with the artworks/artists. The conceptualization of these two types of narratives was based on successive iterations between theory and evidence. In order to ensure the quality of the case study evidence, the author followed numerous practices recommended in the literature, such as theory to structure the list of interview topics, the usage of multiple sources for gathering the qualitative accounts, the employment of various methods of data analysis and the utilization of reflective practises (e.g. the transparency of methods used in the study) during the process of analysis(Cho and Trent, 2006; Hudson and Ozanne, 1988; Salgado et al., 2013). Moreover, the author

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extensively discussed on multiple iterations the emerged findings with peers so as to inquire informants’ narratives objectively without distortion (Johnson et al., 2006). 4. Findings In this section the author turns to the findings that emerged from the case study evidence (figure 2). The findings are divided into two parts. First, the characteristics of Biennale visitors’ I-thou relationship with the artworks and the identity narratives that evolved from this mode of interpersonal relationship are presented. Next, informants’ I-it mode of relationship with the artworks is discussed as well as the features of this mode of relationship and the narratives that were developed by the establishment of this relationship. [Figure 2 Here] 4.1 I-thou mode of interpersonal relationship In the context of the current research, there were several characteristics that shaped and described informants’ interpersonal relationships with the Biennale artworks. Particularly, investigated visitors who joined dialogical encounters with the Biennale artworks/artists entered the I-thou realm of relating to these experiential objects. This mode of relating to the artworks (i.e. Other) allowed these visitors to act as interlocutors for the Biennale artworks and thus, to address the perspective of the artworks. An example of this is shown to the following quotation: During my visit in the Biennale I caught myself to speak to the artists and to try to understand their viewpoints. For example, when I saw an exhibited collage, I asked the creator of this artwork “what is this?” and at the same time I marginalized my own thoughts so as to understand his world that was depicted in his artwork. In that moment, I realized the right of this artist to have his own peculiar stance. (Niki, fine art photographer, 35 years old) The quotation above represents Niki’s moments of an I-thou relationship with a specific Biennale artwork. Niki is a fine art photographer and she visits contemporary art exhibitions very often, since as she states “contemporary art speaks to me and therefore, it gives me the opportunity to perceive artists’ peculiar perspectives regarding different topics”. As such, Niki in her account reflects on the dialogue that she had with a particular artist and on her realization that through this dialogue she acknowledged the idiosyncratic being of this artist, namely she confirmed the otherness of this artist (i.e. recognition of the Other as another subject) (Cooper, 2003; Danto, 1981; Gadamer, 1993). Niki in the sentence “I realized the right of this artist to have his own peculiar stance” describes this unconditional acceptance of the artist in his own peculiar form. In line with Buber (1958), this confirmation of the artist’s otherness (i.e. Niki’s unconditional acceptance of the artist in his own peculiar form) signals Niki’s relation to the specific artwork and her encounter of this artwork without some purpose or need (i.e. Niki marginalized her own thoughts so as to understand the subjective world of the Other). Niki’s relation to this specific artwork (i.e. Niki does not meet her idea of the artwork/artist, but she confronts the artwork/artist directly) and her encounter of it without some purpose or need, represent her direct meeting with the Other (i.e. artwork), namely a meeting through which Niki confronts the Other as a unique individual and by turning outward to this unique individual (i.e. she marginalized her own thoughts so as to understand the artist’s world), she experiences the presence of the Other as 10

another subject (i.e. humanizing the Other, namely she acknowledges the artwork/artist as a unique and vibrant humanity) (Buber 1958; Cooper, 2003). These aspects of Niki’s encounter with the artwork, i.e. confirming, relating to and humanizing the Other, reflect the I -thou mode of interpersonal relation. Other informants described additional elements of the I-thou relationship, such as their relation to specific Biennale artworks in a transparent way, through which visitors disclosed their personal thoughts, feelings and perspectives during their interactions with the Biennale artworks, as well as their encounter of Biennale artworks as a “cognitive-affectiveembodied whole” (Cooper, 2003, p. 137). Marianna narrated the following: The performative characteristics of some exhibited artworks in relation with their political content enabled me to disclose the ideas, feelings and bodily movements of the artists who created these artworks. Through this pure encounter, I realized that I as an artist I am politically inert, a realization that will change the way with which I create my own art and will transform me into a political artist. (Marianna, artist, 36 years old) In this passage, Marianna describes her I-thou relationship with some Biennale artworks. Marianna is a visual artist, who considers that her visits to contemporary art exhibitions constitute an artistic journey, through which she can meet the viewpoints and experiences of different artists and at the same time to share with them her own perspectives and experiences. Thus, in the first sentence of her account, Marianna describes the relational depth of her interaction with some artworks, namely an encounter within which she is in touch with the artworks in various levels, such as the embodied, emotional and mental level. This encounter of the Other as “a cognitive-affective-embodied whole” (Cooper, 2003, p. 137) led Marianna to relate to the Other in an open way, in which she discloses her private thoughts regarding her artistic career. Through this mode of relating to the artworks, Biennale visitors addressed the artworks as Others in their identities and by doing so, they moved beyond the solipsistic engagement with their personal lifeworlds. This addressivity and its outcome, i.e. moving informants away from their comfort zones, contributed to the construction of identity narratives in which parts of the story that was told ascribed to the perspectives of the artists and as such, these perspectives participated in the (co)creation of the narrative: An exhibited artwork unveiled the artist’s viewpoint towards humanity. During my meeting with this artwork I felt that she [the artist] opened herself to me and narrated her stories and thoughts. And it was through this feeling that I felt that I could also unlock myself to her. Through this dialogue with her, I met an aspect of myself that I didn’t know that I had….I met my political self, a self through which I lived the experience and made me reconsider who I am and what I do as citizen of this world. (Tasos, salesman, 36 years old) In the above extract Tasos, an informant of this study who considers himself as an inexperienced art visitor, describes his dialogical interaction with one artist and his discovery of this artist’s universe. This encounter enabled Tasos to have a real meeting with aspects of himself that he has never met before (Cooper, 2003). As such, he experiences that a specific exhibited artwork and the artist of this artwork engage him in an act of discovering, creating and enacting a new aspect of himself. Through this reconstruction of his identity, Tasos reflects on his I that lived the experience and creates new identity meanings that transformed his identity (Hermans, 2006; Beech, 2008). 11

Similarly, Andreas, a non expert art visitor as he notes in his diary, represents his cocreated identity narrative, as it was evolved from his Biennale experience: There were some Biennale artworks, in which I could feel the presence of their artists and at the same time I was able to see the world through their perspective. This experience of being in touch with some artworks and their artists, unexpectedly sparked a conversation, within which I found familiar aspects of myself being challenged by the artists. However, this challenging conversation allowed me to leave behind me these familiar aspects of myself and thus, enabled me to rediscover myself as well as to get to know myself better. This sense of experiencing myself in such a different way sparked inside me feelings of renewal. (Andreas, postgraduate student, 24 years old) The above excerpt demonstrates Andreas’ genuine encounter with some Biennale artworks which led him to experience feelings of transformation. Particularly, Andreas describes his engagement into a challenging conversation, which was sparked by his interaction with some Biennale artworks. Through his engagement into this conversation, Andreas realizes his attachment to familiar aspects of himself and by so doing, he deviates from this comfort zone (i.e. from the familiar aspects of himself). By his movement to unexplored areas of himself, Andreas not only allowed the alterity of the Biennale artworks to enter his personal realm but also he opened himself to these unfamiliar stimuli, which led him to experience a new sense of his identity (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010). As evidenced by the preceding manifestations as well as by the additional instances of I-thou relationships and their corresponding identity narratives depicted in figure 3, Biennale visitors’ I-thou relationships with the artworks engaged them into transformative journeys, which enabled them not only to identify with the Biennale artworks but also to exceed “the boundaries of their identities as an isolated entity” (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010, p. 143). This dialogical extension of informants’ identities toward the artworks signals an identity narrative that is constructed by the dialogical interaction between internal (i.e. visitors’ identities) and external (i.e. artists/artworks) voiced perspectives (Gergen, 1994). This shared authorship of Biennale visitors’ identity narratives resulted in challenging the existing meanings of their identities and thus, led to the transformation of their identities. [Figure 3 Here] In line with previous research on contemporary art consumption (e.g. Bourriaud, 1998; Chen, 2009; Cupchik, 2002; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009), these findings demonstrate the importance of dialogical interaction between viewers and contemporary artworks in accessing, interpreting and co-producing an experience of contemporary art. More importantly, the case study evidence highlights the I-thou relationship that evolved from this dialogical interaction, and resulted into the creation of co-authored identity narratives that transformed Biennale visitors’ identities. 4.2 I-it mode of interpersonal relationship The Biennale experience of contemporary art as a subjective experience that elicits various responses and forms of communication (Barrett, 2000; Carú and Cova, 2005; Roald, 2008; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009; White et al., 2009), engaged some Biennale visitors into a monological interaction with the contemporary artworks. The case study evidence showed that informants’ monological interactions with the artworks/artists led them to relate to the 12

experiential objects (i.e. Other) in an I-it mode. An example of this is shown to the following extract: I would characterize my experience in the Biennale as a pluralistic experience…I mean an experience of seeing different artworks and perspectives. During my tour inside the museum, I looked at the artworks and I tried to learn from them and to understand the driving forces behind their creation. For example, the choice of one artist to display in his artwork the conflicts that exist in some countries made me think that this artwork was a consequence of the artist’s specific political perspectives. Another artwork reminded me my childhood and my grandparents. The displayed maps reminded me how I enjoyed as a student to read maps and to discover new places. (Manos, doctoral student, 30 years old) In the above extract the I-it relationship that Manos established with the Biennale artworks is described. Manos is a doctoral student in the field of Economics and he visits contemporary art settings very rarely. However, by being an amateur passionate photographer he considers that he should visit art settings more often, since he believes that visits in these settings can improve his skills regarding photography. When Manos elaborates on his interactions with the Biennale artworks/artists, he does not manifest any dialogical activity with the various artworks/artists. However, he reveals that during his interaction with different artworks/artists, he detached himself from the artworks and merely observed them in his attempt to extract knowledge from them. Within this interaction, Manos’ aim to learn from the artworks intervenes his relation to them and thus, he experiences artworks/artists, instead of relating to them as in the I-thou relationship. In his account, Manos also unravels his interpretation of an artwork, which is based on determined terms. To illuminate this, when he states that the creation of a specific Biennale artwork was a consequence of its artist’s particular political beliefs, he discloses a personal assumption, through which he perceives the artwork as being driven by specific forces (i.e. causality) instead of perceiving the artwork in the present as in the I-thou mode of interpersonal relationship (e.g. to marginalize his personal thoughts so as to encounter the freedom of the being of the artwork/artist, namely to encounter it without relying on causal associations based on his personal assumptions). By so doing, Manos does not meet this artwork (i.e. Other) in its immediate presence (i.e. as an artwork that by being released by its past it is free to choose its own way of being in the present), but he encounters it as being the result of a specific past cause (Buber, 1958; Cooper, 2003). Furthermore, Manos’ interaction with another Biennale artwork enabled him to reveal his memories and as a result to connect this artwork with his personal lifeworld. This experience of the artworks/artists “in terms of what has been already experienced and known” (Cooper, 2003, p. 136) led Manos to experience artworks/artists in light of his subjective world rather than in light of the world of the artworks/artists. These characteristics of Manos’ interaction with the contemporary artworks, namely experiencing and causality, reflect Buber’s (1958) conceptualization of the I-it mode of interpersonal relationship. Through the development of this interpersonal mode of relationship, Biennale visitors experienced the artworks according to their personal lifeworlds, and thus, these visitors’ interpretations of the meanings of artworks reflected their own schemata and interests (Cooper, 2003; Wood, 1969). This absorption of the alterity of the artworks/artists led these visitors to distance themselves from the Other (i.e. artworks/artists) and thus to objectify the 13

being of the Other. In the following extract, Maria, a visitor who characterized her visit to the Biennale as “an unusual activity”, since she visits contemporary art spaces occasionally, unravels her objectification of the being of the artists/artworks. Particularly, Maria discloses this objectification by talking about the artworks and not with the artworks. By doing so, she does not acknowledge a living relationship between herself and artworks and thus, she typifies a sense of a partial engagement with the artworks: From the first minute of my interaction with an exhibited video I was able to understand what this video wanted to tell me since I have seen similar artworks in the past. Therefore, I was able to create my own interpretation regarding this piece of contemporary art. The artist of another displayed artwork attempted to move the viewers by emphasizing the catastrophic dimensions of war, but in my case that was not achieved. Moreover, another exhibited artwork instead of depicting the difficulties that contemporary societies undergo due to the economic crisis and proposing solutions, it expressed the viewpoint of the artist regarding this period of economic recession. (Maria, teacher, 36 years old) This objectification of the artists/artworks not only disallowed the artworks/artists to express their own perspectives but also to enter the personal domains of the Biennale visitors. Through this subordination of the viewpoints of the artists/artworks Biennale visitors reflected on the artworks rather than reaching out to them. As such, informants created identity narratives that mirrored their existing identity perspectives: In the exhibition there were two artworks, which made me think that their creators could have had created more revolutionary artworks. I think that these artists wanted to communicate to us something radical, but they did not succeed it. However, their attempts to show us something more rebel awaked an existing part of myself, namely the activist part of myself. (Dimitris, project manager, 28 years old) In the above extract, Dimitris, an occasional visitor of art exhibitions as he stresses in his diary, expresses his truth about the experience and claims to know the real intentions of the artists. In doing so, he does not discover the world of the artists/artworks and does not allow his internal world to be challenged by the artworks/artists. On the contrary, he reveals an existing part of himself that is partially identified with the artists/artworks. Furthermore, through this partial identification Dimitris describes this part of himself as an observer, namely he covers the perspectives and viewpoints of this part of himself. This signals his detachment from his interaction with the artworks and thus, his unsuccessful attempt to develop a deeper connection with the viewpoints of the artworks (Beech, 2008; Hermans, 2006). Dimitris’ unsuccessful attempt to develop a deeper connection with the viewpoints of the artworks is manifested in his account, within which he states that his interaction with the artworks awaked an existing part of himself, without however elaborating on how this interaction influenced the viewpoints of this part of himself. In a similar context, Adam, another informant of this study, describes in his narrative his personal viewpoints that shaped his Biennale experience: I consider myself as an experience seeker, which means that I choose to visit art museums occasionally. However, I do not think that this experience satisfied the above need . . . I mean that I felt that the exhibition had as an aim to narrate to viewers specific historical facts. For example, the diverse Biennale artworks used different techniques (such as video, maps, collage) to express different historical events. Despite the fact that this was very 14

interesting, I did not feel that I could relate with the majority of the artworks, since the artists’ approaches towards these facts do not align with my own way of thinking. I believe that they could display these facts in a more interesting and informative way. However, there was one artwork, i.e. a displayed map of the Mediterranean region, which reminded me my passion for travelling and engaged me into a process of thinking about my next trip. (Adam, marketing manager, 29 years old) In his reflective passage, Adam by talking about his experience discloses his detachment from the artworks and in the sentence “artists’ approaches towards these facts do not align with my own way of thinking” he elaborates on his argument regarding this detachment. This enactment of Adam’s existing identity meanings, which is manifested in the sentence “my own way of thinking”, led him to not fully acknowledge the otherness of the artists/artworks and thus, to suppress their own viewpoints. Furthermore, Adam by enacting his existing identity meanings, he finds a familiar part of himself (i.e. he as a passionate traveller) to be connected with one artwork, which is conceived by him as an Other that shares with him similar interests (i.e. maps). This monological interaction led Adam to reflect on this existing part of himself (i.e. he as a passionate traveller). Through this reflection, he assigned to the viewpoint of a specific artwork the perspective of this part of himself (i.e. passion for travelling) and by so doing, he protected his past identity meanings from being challenged (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010). The above manifestations as well as the additional instances of I-it relationships and their corresponding identity narratives depicted in figure 4, demonstrate that Biennale visitors’ establishment of I-it relationships with the artworks led them to enact existing and familiar identity meanings, through which these visitors prevented the perspectives of the artists/artworks from challenging their identity meanings and transform them (Mead, 1934). This self-protective and monological closure of the identity towards the Other manifests an identity narrative that is shaped by the authoritative standpoints of familiar identities (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010). This authorship of Biennale visitors’ identity narratives resulted in moving the identity into a monological direction and therefore, led to the preservation of existing identity meanings. [Figure 4 Here] Consumers’ interactions with artworks constitute an important topic in experiential services and museological research (e.g. Carú and Cova, 2005, 2007; Falk, 2009; Venkatesh and Meamber, 2006), since these interactions shape an aesthetic experience and its corresponding meaning. The case study evidence contributes to this stream by bringing to the fore the monological interaction between viewers and contemporary artworks. Particularly, this study shows that Biennale visitors’ establishment of I-it relationships with the artworks led them to enact existing identity meanings, which shaped their experiences as well as their identity narratives that emerged from the Biennale experience. 5. Discussion and conclusions The findings of this study offer insights into the research stream of consumption of experiential services which calls for research on consumers’ relationships with experiential products in order to understand how the meaning emerging from these relationships creates meaningful, satisfactory and (even) different types of service experiences (e.g. Bigné et al., 15

2008; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009; Vargo and Lusch, 2008). The case study evidence of the current research for some consumers is in line with previous studies, which argue that consumers’ interactions with experiential objects generate the meanings of experiential services and through these generated meanings, consumers (re)shape their identities (Bigné et al., 2008; cf. Thompson, 1997; Venkatesh and Meamber, 2006, 2008). Most importantly, the case study evidence introduces the relationships that emerged from Biennale visitors’ interactions with contemporary artworks and the identity narratives evolving from these relationships. Particularly, the findings suggest that Biennale visitors’ relationships with the contemporary artworks take the form of I-thou and I-it relationships. These two modes of interpersonal relationships by entailing different characteristics and forms of communication led investigated visitors to live different types of experiences of contemporary art consumption. The contribution of this study is twofold: First, this study by introducing and analyzing these different modes of interpersonal relationships provides additional insights into previous consumer research that has explored the relationships that consumers develop with objects that characterize a particular mode of consumption, namely objects that can be purchased and possessed (e.g. Ahuvia, 2005; Chen, 2009; Fournier, 1998; Ji, 2002). This study provides aspects of Biennale visitors’ relationships with objects that can “be viewed or admired” (i.e. contemporary artworks, Chen, 2009, p. 925) and therefore belong to another mode of consumption, that of consumption experiences (Chen, 2009). Particularly, the findings demonstrate the characteristics (e.g. humanizing versus objectifying the experiential object) that shaped informants’ interactions with artworks. Thus, the current study highlights the I-thou and I-it modes of interpersonal relationships that Biennale visitors developed with the artworks in their attempts to perceive, access and interpret the experiential objects within a contemporary art service context. This is an interesting finding since these interpersonal relationships suggest that the type of relationship between a subject (i.e. consumers) and an object (i.e. experiential object) within an experiential service context is shaped by the mode of relationship that is developed between them rather than by the actuality of the subject and the object (cf. Fournier, 1998; cf. O’Neill and Palmer, 2003; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). As such, this finding is in line with the service dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004), which argues that “consumption is not only based on a simple exchange related to goods or services on offer, but also it is based on a complex exchange where consumption is experience based” (White et al., 2009, p. 776). In this way, the case study evidence highlights these complicated relationships that in turn provide an understanding of the intersubjective creation of a service reality, which it has been absent from previous research in experiential service consumption. Second, the Biennale case study sheds light into previous work that has examined the relationship between aesthetic experiences and identity. These earlier studies concentrate on the transformative nature of aesthetic meanings and advocate that aesthetic experiences contribute to the (trans)formation of consumers’ identities (Carú and Cova, 2005; Charters, 2006; Chen, 2009; Umiker-Sebeok, 1992; Venkatesh and Meamber, 2006, 2008). The case study evidence brings to the fore the different identity narratives that emerge from the establishment of different modes of interpersonal relationships. For instance, the development of I-thou relationships allowed Biennale visitors to address the artworks as Others in their 16

identities, to move away from their comfort zones and to create identity narratives in which the perspectives of the artists/artworks participated in the (co)creation of the narrative. This shared authorship of Biennale visitors’ identity narratives resulted in challenging the existing meanings of their identities and thus, led to the transformation of their identities. In contrast, Biennale visitors’ development of I-it relationships with the artworks led them to enact existing and familiar identity meanings, which prevented the perspectives of the artists/artworks from entering these visitors’ personal domains and transform these domains (Hermans and Hermans-Konopka, 2010; Mead, 1934). This authorship of Biennale visitors’ identity narratives resulted in moving the identity into a monological direction and therefore, led these visitors to preserve their existing identity meanings. These findings shed light into how Biennale visitors (re)discover their identities during their interactions with contemporary artworks (Chen, 2009; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). As such, they offer new theoretical insights regarding the diversity of aesthetic experiences (i.e. transformation and preservation) that vary as a result of the establishment of different interpersonal relationships. Viewed in this light, this diversity of aesthetic experiences evolving from the development of distinctive interpersonal relationships provides an alternative manifestation of consumers’ postconsumption evaluations that emerge from experiential service consumption. To illuminate, until now research on experiential consumption of services (e.g. Bigné et al., 2008; Grace and O'Cass, 2004) has primarily discussed the post-consumption evaluation of services in terms of feelings, satisfaction and attitude toward a service. The current research discusses Biennale visitors’ post-consumption evaluations in terms of their identity narratives (Arnould and Price, 1993). In so doing, it demonstrates the different identity narratives that capture informants’ idiosyncratic evaluations of experiences reflected on the development of distinctive interpersonal relationships and on the (re)shaping of their personal identity meanings. The aforementioned case study evidence indicates the complicated relationships that consumers’ develop with experiential objects during their consumption of an experiential service as well as the role of these relationships in shaping consumers’ post-consumption evaluations. These findings, by drawing on a contemporary art context, highlight how an experiential service can relate to and (re)shape consumers’ lives. Thus, this article contributes to the experiential services literature by discussing consumers’ interpersonal relationships with experiential products, which despite their significance in shaping a service experience and its post-consumption evaluation have been under-theorized in previous research (e.g. Grace and O’Cass, 2004; Manthiou et al., 2014). The current study also offers practical implications for contemporary art exhibition organizers, since the understanding of visitors’ interactions and relationships with contemporary artworks provides insights on curatorial and marketing practices for such art institutions (Goulding, 2000; cf. Moscardo, 1996). Specifically, this study shows that Biennale visitors’ I-thou mode of relating to the artworks resulted in the creation of identity narratives that transformed their existing identity meanings. This finding illuminates that for these consumers, the Biennale experience constituted a transformative and an extraordinary service experience (Chan, 2009; Choe et al., 2014). In contrast, Biennale visitors’ establishment of I-it relationships with the artworks led them to live a more familiar service experience compared to the experiences of visitors, who established I-thou relationships with 17

the artworks. As such, the findings of the current study, by providing the characteristics that shape an I-thou and an I-it relationship, can assist exhibition organizers in implementing exhibitions that more fully engage visitors. For instance, exhibition organizers could enhance consumers’ experiences in a contemporary art service context by employing participatory curatorial practices, which encourage connection and closeness between viewers and artworks (Berleant, 1990). Moreover, given the fact that more and more museums adopt the post-institutional characteristics of art Biennales (Gielen, 2009), the findings of this study may inform museums’ marketing practices and more specifically the development of museums’ branding practices (Janes, 2010). Particularly, museum marketers can use a more mindful rhetoric in their branding practices, such as promoting contemporary art institutions as mindful contexts, which can enlarge viewers’ consciousness by providing to them transformative experiences. Such branding practices may facilitate viewers’ understanding of the personal benefits that can evolve from their encounters with contemporary artworks and thus, to encourage viewers to come “into contact with the rich range of human awareness that is embodied in art” (Berleant, 1990, p.39; cf. Choe et al. 2014; cf. McCracken, 2005). 6. Limitations and further research Since this research represents an initial attempt to understand consumers’ interpersonal relationships with experiential objects within the context of contemporary art consumption, it faces limitations that can potentially offer directions for further research. Initially, the current research focuses on the interpersonal relationships that are established between viewers and contemporary artworks on the microgenetic level (i.e. during experience – in time). Therefore, the data of the current research do not allow the author to thoroughly investigate the stability of the transformative post-consumption episodes that emerge from the creation of the co-authored identity narratives. Previous research argues that the tracking of the alterations that occur in individuals’ identities requires an examination of these changes in the macro level (i.e. through time). Thus, further research can provide additional insights to the findings of this research by conducting a longitudinal case study (cf. Salgado et al., 2013). Likewise, future research could also seek a deeper exploration of the dominated identity narratives emerging from the I-it relationships in order to provide additional theoretical and practical insights of this form of interpersonal relationship. Furthermore, each informant of this study was related to the Biennale artworks either in an I-thou or in an I-it mode, namely each Biennale visitor exhibited in his/her accounts a particular interpersonal mode of relating to the different Biennale artworks. However, according to Buber (1958) these relationships are not conceived as static, that is, individuals are able to move from I-it moments to I-thou moments, and vice versa. As such, further research may examine such shifting moments in similar service contexts, such as modern and contemporary art museums, within which consumers by (re)enacting and (re)forming their personal lifeworlds are able to develop interpersonal relationships with aesthetic objects (Chen, 2009; Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009). Particularly, further research in such contexts may investigate the different internal and external dynamics (e.g. presence of friends when an experiential object is consumed, authority of a specific internal perspective of consumers) that may influence consumers’ moves from I-it to I-thou moments (and vice versa). 18

Additionally, future research could seek more detailed exploration of the influence of consumers’ professional background and/or art expertise and enthusiasm upon the establishment of I-thou and I-it modes of interpersonal relationships. Similarly, further research could also investigate the tendency of consumers to exhibit a particular mode of relationship, through which they find themselves relating with experiential objects in an experiential service context. Moreover, the current research by concentrating on the relationships that consumers develop with contemporary artworks provides limited insights into the relationships that consumers develop with other forms of art (e.g. modern or classical artworks). As such, future research can explore the interpersonal relationships that consumers establish with other forms of art so as to provide a more comprehensive view of the topic. In a similar vein, this research also provides limited insights into the relationships that are revealed by consumers’ lived experiences with possessive objects. Thus, future research may examine the I-thou and I-it relationships in terms of consumers’ relationships with their brands. The phenomenological nature of these relationships may add significant insights into consumers’ experiences with their possessive objects (Fournier, 1998; Thompson, 1997). Finally, the view that different identity narratives emerge from the different modes of interpersonal relationships may motivate further research on narratives that evolve from consumption of experiences. Prior research suggests that narratives instill coherence in consumers’ experiences and thus, consumers are able to make sense of their experiences and of their selves through the creation of narratives (Ahuvia, 2005; Ladwein, 2007). As such, future research may extent the findings of this study by examining other types of identity narratives that evolve from aesthetic experiences and to identify the post-consumption outcomes (i.e. varieties of experiences) that emerge from these narratives (Sullivan and McCarthy, 2009).

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Table 1: Participants and their relevant characteristics. Name

Sex

Age

Occupation

Eleni

Female

27

Tax Officer

Adam Tania Sophie Nikos Georgia Irene

Male Female Female Male Female Female

29 25 35 31 23 20

I-it I-thou I-thou I-it I-it I-it

Evelyn Dimitris Maria Kostas Christos George Marianna

Female Male Female Male Male Male Female

24 28 36 38 35 60 36

Marketing Manager Postgraduate Student Marketing Consultant Doctoral Student Postgraduate Student Customer Service Advisor Postgraduate Student Project Manager Teacher Business Consultant Museum Curator Lawyer Artist

Manos

Male

30

Doctoral Student

I-it

Valia

Female

25

I-it

Apostolis

Male

43

Undergraduate Student Architect

Vaso Christina

Female Female

26 24

I-it I-it

Kiki Andreas Evita Elias Hraklis Aspasia

Female Male Female Male Male Female

32 24 28 23 25 22

I-thou I-thou I-thou I-thou I-it I-thou

Passing interest in art Mild interest in art Interest in art Amateur interest in art Genuine interest in art Amateur interest in art

Ioanna

Female

26

Postgraduate Student Undergraduate Student Sales Representative Postgraduate Student Sales Manager Museum Keeper Art Museum Teacher Undergraduate Student Ballet dancer

Passionate about contemporary art Amateur interest in art Mild interest in art

I-thou

Panos Chrisanthi Constantinos Zoe Tasos Alexandra Anna Nancy Michalis Niki

Male Female Male Female Male Female Female Female Male Female

28 30 28 28 36 40 28 25 43 35

Mild interest in contemporary art Mild interest in art Interest in art Passing interest in art Passing interest in art Mild interest in art Interest in art Strong interest in art Interest in art Passing interest in art Passionate about contemporary art & photography

Employee Teacher Sailing Coach General Manager Salesman Archeologist Architect Postgraduate Student Banker Fine Art Photographer

Note.–All informant names have been anonymized.

25

Mode of Interpersonal Relationship I-thou

I-thou I-it I-it I-it I-thou I-thou I-thou

I-thou

I-it I-it I-it I-thou I-thou I-it I-thou I-thou I-it I-thou

Self-Professed Interest In Art Interest in creative industries Passing interest in art Interest in art Interest in art Strong interest in art Passing interest in art Mild interest in art Interest in art Mild interest in art Passing interest in art Interest in art Genuine interest in art Interest in art Passionate about contemporary art Interest in art & photography Mild interest in art

Figure 1: The synthesis of the two frameworks

26

Figure 2: Findings

27

Figure 3: Instances of Biennale visitors’ I-thou relationships with the artworks and their corresponding identity narratives.

28

Figure 4: Instances of Biennale visitors’ I-it relationships with the artworks and their corresponding identity narratives.

the

exp Obje eri ctify enc ing ing a the nd Oth e

r

g cin ien per Ex Oth er

29