Consumers and citizens in the post-growth economy

Abstract

The paper starts with the observation that in the Post-Growth Economy the difference between the role of consumer and the role of citizen can vanish as consumers – similar to citizens – increasingly take a broader view on the mission and function of business. Becoming conscious of environmental and social issues, consumer-citizens require ecological, prosocial, and ethical functioning from companies. The paper argues that in the Post-Growth Economy businesses and other organizations should develop close collaboration with the consumer-citizens to harness their support for their functioning. The paper presents innovative cases of community-based enterprises to show the beneficial effects of the active involvement of consumer-citizens in business functioning. The paper concludes with some suggestions for businesses for developing deep collaboration with the consumer-citizens to change their business models fitting in the Post-Growth Economy.