An Audience Heterogeneity View of Markets: Contributions, Tensions, and Agenda for Future Research
Journal
Journal of Management
ISSN
0149-2063
ISSN-Digital
1557-1211
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2025-02-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Withers, Michael
Abstract
Producers’ resource allocation, performance, and survival depend on how market audiences identify, evaluate, and value them. While research has focused on producers’ heterogeneity, it has not consistently addressed audiences’ heterogeneity despite its critical consequences on producers’ decisions and market dynamics. This review integrates three research perspectives—ecological, socio-cognitive, and optimal distinctiveness—to offer a clearer comprehension of audience heterogeneity. It distinguishes between-audience heterogeneity from within-audience heterogeneity and regroups existing but scattered findings under two audience heterogeneity dimensions: audience plasticity and audience multiplexity. Avenues for research build on these distinctions and underscore the relationships between audience heterogeneity and market temporality, individual reactions (e.g., rooted in ideology and emotions), and technology (in particular AI-enhanced categorization).
Language
English
Keywords
Institutional theory (sociology)
MACRO
non-market strategies
organizational ecology
theoretical perspectives
Refereed
yes
Publisher
SAGE Publications
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