Social routines and the consumption of food

Abstract

in order to gain a realistic understanding of consumption. There are useful insights from the evolutionary accounts of decision making in firms that can be transferred to the realm of consumer behaviour. To augment the notion of routine that emerges from this literature, and specifically to explore what is social about routines, we also draw on sociological accounts of consumption that identify the extent to which tastes are shared among groups within society. This conceptualisation is reinforced by recourse to statistical analysis of real consumption data from Great Britain. The notion of the social routine behaviour of individuals is important for scholars interested in studies of innovation, but has received little attention. After all, product innovation requires consumers to adapt or break their consumption routines. Therefore, understanding the nature of these routines is crucial for a complete understanding of innovation processes.