Disability and consumption: A state of the art

This article considers the cultural and social aspects of disability through a critical review of marketing research. Two main issues are explored. First, how do these works portray consumers with disabilities? Two profiles become apparent: the passive consumers who are targeted by the construction of offers that are adapted to their needs and the more active consumers who wish to play an active role within the marketplace. Second, does this academic research process have a participatory approach that includes the involvement of consumers with disabilities? After defining participatory research, we show that a minority of works applied this approach and discuss the methodological problems involved in its use. Possible future research avenues are then raised to improve this approach and thus attain a better understanding of the consumer with disabilities