WHEN YOU YEAST EXPECT IT: THE UNLIKELY EMERGENCE OF CRAFT BEER CULTURE IN FINLAND

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Drawing on data collected through archival research, semi-structured interviews, and site observation, this study examines the conditions underlying the emergence of craft beer culture in Finland. In doing so, the study seeks to shed light on phenomena underpinning the emergence of global consumer culture in unfavorable environments. A hermeneutic analysis reveals three themes that contribute to the emergence of craft beer culture in Finland: craft brewers as Davids vs. Goliath, craft beer consumption as consumers’ identity work, and bartenders and brewers as cultural intermediaries.
On a broad level, the study contributes to literature examining the impact of globalization on consumer behavior by illustrating how global consumer culture presents local consumers a means to resist dominant local cultural and market structures. The study also extends research on consumer acculturation to global consumer culture by highlighting the importance of cultural intermediaries in the acculturation process.
Implications of the study include the finding that consumer resistance towards local hegemonic consumptionscapes presents an entry point for global consumer culture, allowing international marketers to tap into local consumers’ desire to defy and resist local cultural and market structures deemed as restrictive or oppressive. The study also argues that international marketers are wise to consider the influence of cultural intermediaries in introducing and disseminating new consumption practices, especially in the case of products at the forefront of new global consumption trends.