A. R. Shaheen Hosany, Hult International Business School

Deirdre O'Loughlin, University of Limerick

Hong Xiao, Durham University

Sheau-Fen Yap, Auckland University of Technology

Life transitions encompass extended, non-linear periods of disruption and adaptation following events such as childbirth, divorce, relocation, and career shifts. These transitions generate resource scarcity, disrupt established routines, and reshape how consumers perceive and consume goods and services, influencing their interactions with brands and impacting well-being and life trajectories.

Existing research on life transitions remains limited in scope, focusing predominantly on a narrow range of events in developed countries. This special issue seeks to advance understanding of the psychological mechanisms through which life transitions affect cognition, emotion, identity, and well-being, while generating actionable insights for ethical marketing practice. The special issue welcomes work examining transitions as dynamic processes, exploring heterogeneity in transitional experiences, and identifying boundary conditions and factors such as resource availability, social support, and cultural contexts.

Appel publié par Psychology and Marketing. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• Psychological Processes During Life Transitions: psychological consequences of multiple, concurrent, or sequential transitions; how transitions expand versus constrain identity and shape consumption practices; consumption forms that foster resilience during transitions; how consumers reimagine rituals and routines across socio-cultural contexts; generational differences in responses to life events; emotional dynamics during transitions; comparison of different transition types; how transitions reshape cognitive and motivational processes; novel psychological constructs for understanding transitions; how transitions shape memorable experiences
• Liminality and Consumption: influence of liminal states on consumer judgment and decision-making; impact of transitions that sustain liminality on consumer experiences and identity; roles of objects, possessions and brands in stabilising or transforming the self; role of marketing and consumption in reconstructing identity post-transformation
• Consumer Vulnerability and Well-Being: conceptualization of coping strategies, perceived control, and resilience under uncertainty; how vulnerable consumers respond to life transitions; interaction of transitions, value co-creation and well-being in shaping transformative outcomes; influence of socio-economic status on consumer responses to transitions
• Services, Service Systems and Transitions: impact of life transitions on leisure, travel and tourism; how innovative technologies support consumers during transitions; service design and front-line employee roles in facilitating transitions; how market structures and service systems buffer or exacerbate vulnerability
• Marketing Strategy and Transitions: consumer response to advertising appeals during transitions; brand advertising strategy during times of change; brand extensions, pricing, and product strategy for consumers in transition; role of economic precarity in shaping consumer behaviour; use of storytelling and narratives in interpreting life events; preferences for utilitarian versus luxury purchases during transitions
• Methodological Approaches: ethical identification and study of consumers in transitions; indicators capturing transition onset, intensity, and resolution; longitudinal and innovative research methods for capturing pre-, during-, and post-transition phases; use of digital trace and textual data in interpreting transitions

Timeline

• May 31, 2026: Deadline for submitting 200-word abstract for optional virtual supporting event
• June 17, 2026: Virtual supporting event to provide feedback on papers in progress
• September 15, 2026: Submissions open
• December 15, 2026: Final submission deadline