KALIPSO KARANTINOU, Manchester Business School, UK Michaela, Danae and Artemis live in Kifissia, a prosperous suburb in northern Athens with lovely apartment houses and villas, and elegant designer shops, within 30 minutes' drive of the centre of Athens and the upmarket shopping district of Kolonaki. Michaela, at nearly two years old, already has very strong views about some aspects of consumption, particularly her clothing, which is chosen for her by her mother, Danae. She wears little T-shirts with trousers or dungarees for playtime in the morning; and dresses when going out to social gatherings and events. Michaela has already developed a sense for colour coordination and she has strong preferences with regard to her clothes (there are some clothes she refuses to wear and others that she cannot wait to put on). Sometimes in the mornings she checks her appearance in the mirror, looking closely at what she is wearing; she is also really delighted when someone compliments her on her outfits. As Michaela has got older she has been increasingly involved in choosing what to wear each day. Michaela is especially picky about her shoes and will not let anyone else choose which pair she wears. Each morning she stands in front of the cupboard where all her shoes are stored and picks out a pair herself; each time she chooses those that match her clothes. She particularly loves a pair of shoes that are identical to a pair her mother Danae owns; Michaela feels very proud each time they wear their matching shoes. Michaela loves going to the park every day with her grandmother, Artemis - playing on the rides and in the sand. She has a favourite hat that she puts on to go to the park, a round pink and white one, which her father bought for her. Usually she ends the day completely worn out - and yet always surprises everyone by how much she revives after a good night's sleep and at seven o'clock every morning is always raring to go again - starting with breakfast of warm milk, followed at around nine o'clock by fruit (pears, bananas and strawberries are her favourite), orange juice and a piece of her favourite baby biscuit. She has her main meal around one o'clock, then a substantial snack (yogurt or baby porridge) at five o'clock and her milk at bedtime. Michaela has already developed some strong preferences about food. There are some things that she just loves (fish, meat, brown bread, fresh salads, cooked vegetables, lentils, parmesan cheese, olive oil, baby porridge, yogurt) - and some things she is much less keen on (beans, eggs). Michaela has started to develop a real taste for Greek delicacies, and her grandmother's home-made moussaka, pastichio, oven lasagne (pasta with lots of different types of cheese, mushrooms and fresh cream) and pasticciada (spaghetti with red sauce and beef), are now some of her favourite dishes. However, she still has not developed a taste for feta cheese - and continues to pull a horrible face when she finds herself eating some by mistake. Michaela has a strong preference for certain brands or varieties of food, e.g. bananas and milk. She seems able to spot subtle differences in taste between the varieties, which makes her love one type and refuse to eat the others. Even though other members of the family cannot discern any difference, when shopping they choose these products according to her preferences. Danae, a first-time mother in her late twenties, is a member of generation X. She worked hard after Michaela's birth to get fit again. Before Michaela was born she had read a lot about new babies, and after Michaela's arrival she continued to check with her paediatrician, the Mother and Baby book which she had come to rely on, her friends who were themselves young mothers, and her own mother, Artemis. She was very careful with Michaela's diet, as well as her own - and tried to make sure Michaela did not eat chocolates and sweet things. She had watched her own diet very carefully while she was pregnant. When she was expecting Michaela Danae had eaten fish twice a week and red meat regularly; drunk a litre of milk every day; and always eaten lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. She had avoided soft cheeses (because of fears of listeria); undercooked eggs; raw or undercooked meat (because of fears of salmonella) and some processed foods such as pt, salami and proscuitto (which had always been one of her favourites). She had abstained from alcohol, cut down on coffee (allowing herself only one cup a day, which had at first been difficult to accept); cut out tea (because it prevented the absorption of iron) as well as biscuits and cakes; and had avoided parsley, raspberry tea and mango since they all seemed to be associated case study 11 Scenes from the lives of Athenian mothers and daughters 482 CASE STUDY 1 1 with miscarriage. She had continued to watch her diet carefully, especially in the first year whilst she was still breastfeeding Michaela. She didn't reintroduce alcohol into her diet until Michaela was fully weaned, and still only allows herself one cup of coffee a day. Danae and her husband also reduced to a minimum their own consumption of soft drinks, chips, toffees, cakes and chocolate. They both thought this was necessary to set Michaela a good example. There had been many things to prepare and buy before Michaela was born - lots of little Babygros and outfits, as well as equipment, such as a cot, pram, baby carrier, baby bath, baby monitor and a buggy that turned into a car seat (which would be ideal for trips out). As first-time parents, Danae and her husband did not know what they would need once the baby arrived, and they ended up buying far more things than they needed, as they realized later on. They started by visiting two wellknown large baby stores and getting their catalogues. It took a number of visits to both stores, while Danae was still pregnant, to tick off all the items on their (continuously expanding) shopping list. One of Danae's pleasures, after Michaela was born, was going shopping for a new wardrobe for herself, and new clothes for Michaela. Even though she had managed to get back to her pre-pregnancy figure, Danae needed the reinvigoration and the self-pampering feeling that new clothes seem to bring. Managing to maintain her femininity along with her new image as a young mother was challenging but important to her. She also now needed two different sets of outfits. As a professional woman she needed a couple of new trouser suits with some tops for the office; and as a mother she needed lots of smart casual clothes which looked appropriate in the park as well as on the high street. For the first time in her life she discovered the advantages of in-wash stain removers to cope with the fruit juice stains which seemed to be attracted to her clothing whatever she did . . . and however careful she was. Artemis is just about to celebrate her 50th birthday and is a baby boomer. She spends a lot of time with her granddaughter, Michaela, so she has also had to adjust her wardrobe to take account of days spent in the park and at the swimming pool with her. She recently bought a number of smart casual clothes and flat everyday shoes; she found this change to her wardrobe quite reinvigorating. Artemis is an 'empty nest parent'. She had missed Danae a lot when her daughter had first gone off to university abroad, but Artemis had had no real difficulty in filling her time. She had always been very active with charity and social work, and with more time to spare she was able to devote more time to these activities - she discovered she had a real knack for management and organization, and enjoyed running fund-raising and social events in Athens. Artemis also absolutely loves throwing parties at home: she enjoys all the preparation that goes into it, organizing the house for guests, planning the menu and doing some of the cooking, if not all (depending on the number of guests each time). She and her husband frequently organize dinner parties for 4-8 guests but also quite a few big parties for 30-50 guests every year. Even now that caring for Michaela takes a lot of her time, she still enjoys them; they are just a bit more challenging to organize. Artemis and her husband belong to a social club which meets each week. There are numerous social activities organized by the club every month (guest lectures, visits to exhibitions, visits to archaeological sites, etc.). They also love classical music and they enjoy going to Lyriki Skini (the Opera House), Megaro Moussikis (the concert hall) and Herodion in the summer (the ancient open theatre at the centre of Athens, directly below the Acropolis). One of the things Artemis missed when Danae went away was going shopping with her daughter - one of their treats when they have a chance is to spend time together shopping. They love the shops in Kolonaki but they do most of their shopping in Kifissia and in the centre of Athens, such as in the busy Ermou street. When it comes to clothes, Artemis prefers to shop at a couple of stores she really likes, where they know her and she gets good personalized service. Still, she enjoys window shopping and does go to different stores for the odd item or for shoes and accessories. Artemis does all her food shopping locally, working from a shopping list, but also responding to what foodstuffs are seasonal, fresh and available. There is an excellent market close to where she lives where she can buy fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish. There is also a big supermarket close to home. They eat a lot of fish - usually grilled with herbs and served with salad. Fresh salads and cooked vegetables are always part of their daily menu. A significant aspect of shopping activities for Artemis is gift shopping. Gift-giving is an important ritual in the Greek society and one that needs a big investment of time, effort and money. Artemis in principle enjoys buying gifts but sometimes gets a bit overwhelmed; there are quite a few gift-giving occasions every year: gifts are exchanged at Christmas; Easter; and also on birthdays and name-days (the feast day of a saint whose name one has). This makes choosing and giving gifts an all-year round activity and, due to the number of gifts that need to be bought each time, an activity that needs to be planned carefully. SCENES FROM THE LIVES OF ATHENIAN MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS QUESTIONS 1 Describe and assess the key consumer socialization factors identified in the case. 2 What intergenerational influences on consumer behaviour can you identify from this case study? 3 Compare and contrast the different sets of beliefs, motivations and values associated with baby boomer and generation X consumers, and their respective influences on patterns of consumption. Examine 483 similar sets of consumers in your own country - identify and evaluate similarities and differences between baby boomer and generation X consumers in your society with the Greek examples given in the case. 4 Discuss the rituals and occasions associated with giftgiving in Greece. Compare these gift-giving rituals and occasions with your own country context