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On Authenticity
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the most authentic of
them all…”?
In a modern-day retelling of
the famous fairy tale, this is
what the queen may have
Dr. Giribala Dewasthale asked the magic mirror!
A recent report on Top 10 consumer trends of 2019 by
Euromonitor International notes that consumers today
want authentic, differenciated products and
experiences that help them express their individuality.
‘Authentic’ here implies simplified, back-to-basics
and better quality. Increasingly, consumers are
mindful of their choices and want to minimise
negative impact of their buying decisions on other
people, animals and the environment. Interestingly, in
emerging economies such as ours, consumers look for
authentic products to convey their status.
Words such as ‘hyperlocal’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘craft’,
‘artisan’, ‘handmade’, ‘homemade’, ‘sustainable’ are
all part of the vocabulary conveying authenticity.
In this article I propose to share few research findings
about ‘authenticity’.
The word authentic is associated with genuineness,
reality and truth. Key themes around authenticity are
as follows:
1.Authenticity is a socially constructed phenomenon.
This implies that the meaning of authenticity may vary
by demographics and cultures.
2.Authenticity may be a motive for purchase as well as
experience of consumption
3.Authenticity is an evaluative judgement.
4.Authenticity is an extra role behaviour of service
employees. Service employees going out of their way
in the customer’s interest is perceived as authentic
behaviour.
Consumers associate authenticity with being genuine.
Perceptions of authenticity vary across customer
demographics and cultures and this may be used for
the purpose of segmentation as well as positioning of
products. For instance, we may ask do young people
perceive authenticity in products differently from
older people? Do people from Maharashtra perceive it
differently from people in Madhya Pradesh? Do
Indians perceive it differently from Americans?
If authenticity is a motive for purchase, how does it get
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built in the consumers mind? I feel it gets conveyed
largely through the brand. In service products, service-
scape elements and employee behaviours also
contribute equally towards perceptions of
authenticity.
Servicescape elements include ambient conditions
such as light, smell, music, colours; signs, symbols,
artefacts and layout of the service facility. Sample this
response from my research into employee
performance dimensions that influence consumers’
service quality perceptions:
“I’m talking about having lunch at XYZ restaurant in
Pondicherry. The restaurant did not affect to sell itself
as health, or organic, or gourmet, or artisan, or home-
harvested or any of the other buzz-word foods of these
days. Yet, they served the simplest yet delicious and
healthy food I’ve ever had in a restaurant. It was also
very reasonable. The staff’s attitude, the unadorned
décor, the fact that the restaurant doesn’t have a fridge
and most of its food is served ‘uncooked’, and that the
space also doubles-up as a shop (the walls are lined
with product-piled shelves) —all of these qualities
contributed to that un-clearly-definable feeling that
the workers really just wanted to give us very good
food; they didn’t want to make money off us: they
seemed to actually care”
In services, extraordinary actions or expressions of
courtesy or thoughtfulness are also seen as authentic
behaviour by consumers. Here’s yet another response
from my study:
“I was at XYZ restaurant with my family for dinner. It
was my niece’s birthday. As the table was booked in
advance, we had no problem being seated. The staff
that was serving us were extremely helpful and
explained the relevance of each barbequed dish to
some of the family members, who were dining there
for the first time. They also got a cake for my niece
with the exact no of candles. And all of this with big
smiles on their faces. Loved the experience!”
Research has revealed six types of authenticity:
1. Existential authenticity: being in touch with
one’s inner self and living in accordance with that.
When consumers make mindful purchase decisions to
minimise their negative impact on the environment,
they display existential authenticity.
2. Indexical authenticity: A person’s actions or
expressions are authentic if they are thought to reflect