Stacey Menzel Baker, David M. Hunt, and Terri L. Rittenburg
Executive Summary
Natural disasters, such as tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, firestorms, floods, and earthquakes, threaten lives, disrupt normal consumption rituals, and, at times, leave community members with few, if any, of the material possessions that have facilitated their survival and been central to how they define themselves. Previous research in the context of firestorms and earthquakes has shown that consumers dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster experience loss that is consistent with the experience of vulnerability. Vulnerability occurs when a person is powerless and dependent in a situation that impacts his or her identity.
The current research explores vulnerability as a shared experience. Specifically, the study examines the experience of shared vulnerability, how individuals and the collective respond to their vulnerability, and how a community can be transformed by its vulnerability. Vulnerability is a state that people can typically move through; however, the complex recovery efforts mandated by a natural disaster may perpetuate the experience of vulnerability for both individual community members and the community as a whole. Exploring vulnerability as a shared experience is grounded in the sociological concept of community, which suggests that there is a moral responsibility associated with community that produces collective action when the community is threatened.
On August 12, 2005, the community of Wright, Wyo. (population 1300), was hit by an F2 tornado with winds of 113–130 miles per hour. This study reports the results of focus groups and individual interviews with people who survived and participated in the recovery efforts following the tornado. The authors used informants' reflections on their actions, experiences, values, and beliefs to understand their individual and shared experiences of vulnerability. The findings reflect that people, both individually and collectively, work to reduce their vulnerability and are transformed by their shared experiences of vulnerability. The recovery process occurs over time, in incremental shifts, and across multiple responses. Recovery results in changed values, changed behaviors, and changed policies and procedures. Thus, vulnerability experiences are transformative at both the individual and the collective levels.
Several policy implications can be taken from this study. First, informants reported that interacting with nongovernmental organizations and government relief agencies helped them feel a sense of control over their personal recovery process only when those agencies gave volunteers autonomy in the management of the community's recovery process. When agencies did not give volunteers autonomy in managing the recovery, informants reported that their volunteer activities perpetuated their personal vulnerability. Thus, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations should not prescribe to community volunteers the roles they play in a recovery process. Instead, agencies should provide volunteers with information about the recovery process and allow them to define their roles themselves. That is, relief agencies should not view their roles as managing a recovery but rather as facilitating grass-roots recovery efforts. The structure of the relationship between relief agencies and community volunteers is more than simple procedure. Agencies should strive to structure those relationships in manner that directly influences a community's recovery process. The latter approach empowers communities and facilitates the movement away from vulnerability.
Second, public policies facilitate restoration of control when they provide a mechanism for resources to be distributed equitably. The Federal Emergency Management Agency averts conflict over the equitable distribution of temporary housing by having all temporary homes appear exactly the same. These policies, which are focused on creating fairness, impede restoration of personal control. Ironically, the restrictions on use are not necessarily a bad thing. The restrictions keep trailers in a temporary state, reminding community members that they are in a transitional phase and that eventually some will have to make decisions about their futures.
Third, technologies, or the lack thereof, contribute to vulnerability. For example, because Wright is off the National Weather Service's radar, the community's likelihood of experiencing vulnerability from a tornado is high. To be equitable, public policies should ensure that all communities are on the radar, especially when a community is in an area prone to tornados. In addition, technologies that coordinate efforts between organizations that offer assistance could facilitate the restoration of control. If each household only filled out one needs-assessment form, the emotional energy involved in the paperwork process would be diminished. People could sign legal waivers to allow for the sharing of information between agencies.
Finally, responses to natural disasters force trade-offs between individual and collective well-being. To qualify for disaster assistance, a community must meet specific parameters in terms of lost property and damage. As a result, sometimes, homes potentially restorable are declared a disaster to improve the community's likelihood of receiving assistance. Although declaration may be beneficial for the collective, it is detrimental to some individual home owners. Thus, individual well-being and collective well-being can sometimes represent conflicting motives that mandate a dynamic negotiation process to restore normalcy to a community.
Biography
Stacey Menzel Baker (PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln) is an associate professor and Governor Geringer Scholar in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Wyoming. Stacey is a consumer behavior, public policy, and macromarketing scholar. Much of her research focuses on consumer vulnerability, welfare, and protection and often concerns the experiences of consumers with disabilities in the marketplace. Her coauthored work published in Journal of Macromarketing, which sought to define more clearly the domain of consumer vulnerability, won the 2006 Charles C. Slater Memorial Award for making a significant contribution in the field of macromarketing. Stacey's research has been published in a variety of outlets, including Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Consumer Affairs. She currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Consumer Behavior.
David M. Hunt (PhD, University of Missouri) is Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Hunt's research interests lie at the intersection of consumer behavior, macromarketing, and public policy. His current research includes work in the areas of individual and community identity, sustainable economic development, and deceptive negotiation in consumer exchange. Dr. Hunt's research has been published in Journal of Consumer Psychology and Journal of Product and Brand Management, as well as in various conference proceedings, including those of the Association for Consumer Research, American Marketing Association, and Marketing and Public Policy.
Terri L. Rittenburg (PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln) is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Wyoming. Her primary research interests are in macromarketing issues and marketing ethics. Recent publications have appeared in Journal of Macromarketing and Journal of Business Ethics.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol. 26, No. 2, Fall 2007
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