An Ethnographic Analysis of the Night-Time Entertainment Market Economy of Limassol By: Stylianos Pourgoures A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Management School October 2015 Abstract This paper contributes to the scholarly and practitioner understanding of entertainment marketing, management and consumption through an ethnographic study of an urban night-time entertainment economy. The inquiry sought to answer the research question: “In a night-time entertainment economy, what are the key issues in exchange relationships between entertainment venue producers and individual and collective consumers?” The thesis reports on an ethnographic study of the entertainment night-time economy of Limassol (Cyprus) from a marketing and consumption point of view in order to answer the main research question of the study. This led to the development of five research objectives, namely: (1) To identify different types of music venues located in urban Limassol and their entertainment production approaches; (2) to identify and describe possible consumer groups, their shared values and consumption patterns; (3) to explore and understand the exchange relationships within and between artists, customers and venues; (4) to explore and understand issues related to consumption and production of night-time entertainment; (5) to evaluate and examine how tribal and entertainment marketing theories might be helpful in understanding the night-time entertainment economy. The study drew on a range of literatures, including entertainment management, marketing and consumption; arts marketing; tribal marketing; and recent work on the night-time economy. The ethnographic approach to the inquiry was designed to provide a thick description of the night-time economy and thereby facilitate a holistic understanding of the exchange relationships in their operating context. The fieldwork lasted 18 months with data collection involving 30 mainly individual interviews with venue promoters, consumers and musicians and DJs, as well as photography, extensive participant observation, numerous informal conversations, as well as information-gathering on social media and web-sites. Two types of venues were clearly found to be operating in the study environment, and these differed considerably in their entertainment marketing strategies, one type more economically driven, the other more artistically driven. Their strategies were reflected in different approaches to pricing, target markets, door policies, and associated clientele. Entertainment venues and consumer group identification were found to be closely interlinked. Identification of consumer groups in a night-time entertainment environment was found to be relying upon the availability of venues. Consumer groups were clearly seen to differ visually and could be divided into two types that reflected their venue consumption choices. One group of consumers were extensively labeled by consumers as one cohesive group entitled “High Class” and this group were associated with showing off, following trends, wealth, self-centrism, pretentiousness, closed-mindedness, and uncritical consumption of chart music. The other group of consumers were labeled as being open-minded and more sociable, with particular interests in music, the arts, live events and culture. Within this second group a range of sub-groups were identified, namely: Hippies, Rockers, Gays and Artists. The common motives behind consumers’ consumption of entertainment were also analysed and found to be strongly related to socialising, communication, and change of environment. Issues related to production and consumption of night-time entertainment were also analysed and found to be strongly related with local authorities and a saturated market. Entertainment consumption choices of individuals were evidenced as being based on personal individual preferences rather than perceived group affiliation, while de- marginalisation of consumers was extensively found to be of great value to consumers. The study contributes to the entertainment management, marketing and consumption i literature by focusing attention on a geographically restricted space in order to assess current marketing theories and practices related to the subject. It is the first marketing ethnography of a night-time entertainment economy and provides a thick description of exchange relationships, thus enabling a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. It problematises the theoretical utility and practical application of the notion of tribal marketing in a specific locale and provides evidence of the influence of entertainment providers in shaping consumer behaviour. ii Acknowledgements I would like to express gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Daragh O’Reilly and Dr. EliZabeth Carnegie, without whose precious time, effort and above all guidance, this project would have been difficult to complete. Additional thanks are given to all those who agreed to be interviewed for this research. iii Statement of originality I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institute of higher learning. I also declare that the intellectual content of this dissertation, including but not limited to the data gathered through original research, is the product of my own work, except where acknowledged. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iii List of abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Overview ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Motivation .......................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Entertainment and Cyprus .............................................................................. 2 1.4 Research question, aim and objectives ........................................................ 3 1.5 Contribution ....................................................................................................... 4 1.6 Thesis outline .................................................................................................... 4 1.7 Timetable ............................................................................................................ 5 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Entertainment Environment ............................................................................ 8 2.2.1 Entertainment, Music and Arts Marketing .................................................... 8 2.3 Space ................................................................................................................ 10 2.3.1 Urban Space .................................................................................................. 10 2.3.2 Cultural and social space ............................................................................. 14 2.3.3 Physical spaces ............................................................................................. 14 2.3.4 Online Spaces ................................................................................................ 17 2.4 Visual culture ................................................................................................... 18 2.4.1 Style ................................................................................................................. 19 2.4.2 Mass Media .................................................................................................... 21 2.5 Marketing and Consumer Culture Theory ................................................... 22 2.5.1 Tribes, consumer tribes and subcultural theory ........................................ 24 2.5.2 Post-subcultural studies ................................................................................ 26 2.6 Consumption, tribes and subcultures ......................................................... 36 2.6.1 Music consumption, performance and audience ...................................... 36 2.6.2 Subcultural Capital ........................................................................................ 37 2.6.3 Symbolic consumption .................................................................................. 38 2.6.4 Social identity theory ..................................................................................... 40 2.7 Summary .......................................................................................................... 41 3 Methods ...................................................................................................................... 43 3.1 Ethnography ...................................................................................................