"Spammy, scammy, copy and paste" : constructing the essence(s) of network marketing through business model stigma and multiple discourses
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The current study used a post-intentional phenomenological approach and analytic methods to examine how multilevel marketing (MLM) consultants articulated the essence(s) of MLM, how they experienced and managed MLM stigma, and how they constructed experiences based on social discourses. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 MLM consultants. Participants articulated three essences of MLM: knowing your "why," reaching your "warm market," and recognizing MLM as an "effort-based business." The essences were shaped by their personal values and belief systems, and constructed through neoliberal, gendered, and religious discourses. Regarding stigma, participants experienced two types of stigma: 1) organizational model stigma and 2) occupational stigma of "serial network marketers." They managed the two types of stigma through social comparison strategies and infusing values (such as integrity and fairness) into explanations of MLM work. This study contributes to core-stigma research by offering organizational model stigma as a type of stigma. Additionally, the findings advance stigma management research by suggesting value infusion is a primary taint management strategy and that multiple stigmas can be managed simultaneously using the same technique. Practically, the study has the ability to inform practices and policies of governing agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Direct Selling Association (DSA) as well as MLM companies.
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