A teoria da prática em estudos sobre consumo: uma revisão pelo biblioshiny

Practice theory in consumption studies: a biblioshiny review

Victor Galindo de Mello,  e-mail: victmello@gmail.com, Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3458-9071, Afiliação institucional: Univesidade Estadual do Paraná - Paraná – Brasil
Olga Maria Coutinho Pépece, e-mail: omcpepece@uem.br, Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9155-9285, Afiliação Institucional: Universidade Estadual de Maringá - Paraná – Brasil

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Abstract

The Practice Theory presents relevant contributions to the understanding of consumption phenomena. Analyzing practice elements (materials, competencies, and meanings), different human activities can be interpreted. However, it is still necessary attention to which themes can be developed within the management area. The present study sought to perform a bibliometric analysis of Practice Theory and Consumption themes within the management field. A bibliometric analysis was carried out based on Scopus and Web of Science databases. The Biblioshiny tool was used to perform descriptive, co-citation, and thematic clustering analyses. Four thematic groups were identified, encompassing sustainable consumption practices, collaborative consumption practices, purchasing practices, food practices, and green marketing. Important themes for future studies are directed to purchasing practices and food consumption. New research directions can be used based on the analyzed data.

Keywords: Practice Theory. Consumption. Biblioshiny

Resumo

A Teoria da Prática vem apresentando relevantes contribuições para a compreensão dos fenômenos de consumo. Por meio da análise dos elementos da prática (materiais, competências e significados), diferentes atividades humanas podem ser interpretadas. Entretanto, ainda se faz necessária uma atenção de quais temáticas podem ser desenvolvidas dentro da área de administração. O presente estudo tem como objetivo uma análise bibliométrica da temática da Teoria da Prática e Consumo dentro do campo de administração. Buscou-se realizar uma análise bibliométrica nas bases da Scopus e Web of Science. Adotou-se a ferramenta Biblioshiny para realizar as análises descritivas, de co-citação e clusterização temática. Quatro agrupamentos temáticos, sendo as práticas de consumo sustentável, práticas de consumo colaborativo, práticas de compras e práticas alimentares e green-marketing. Como temáticas promissoras para futuras pesquisas, encontram-se temas como práticas de compras e consumo alimentar. Novos direcionamentos de pesquisa podem ser empregados com base nos dados levantados.

Palavras-chave: Teoria da Prática. Consumo. Biblioshiny

Citação: Mello, V. G., & Pépece, O. M. C. (2022). Practice theory in consumption studies: a biblioshiny review. Gestão & Regionalidade, v.X, e2023XXX. https//doi.org/10.13037/gr.volX.e2023XXX

1 Introduction

The Practice Theory has proven to be a relevant theoretical approach to understanding current consumption phenomena (Corsini et al., 2019; Warde et al., 2017; Welch et al., 2020). However, different attentions were adopted for the analysis of practices (Reckwitz, 2002). Isboli (2019) argues that there is not just a “Theory” of Practice, but a set of “Theories”. Two moments, identified as “waves”, represent the different attentions to practice theory (Warde, 2016). The first wave encompasses the studies developed by Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Marshall Sahlins, and Michel Foucault from the 1970s onwards. The objective focused on understanding “action” to overcome the system-structure dichotomy in understanding phenomena (Corsini et al., 2019).

The second wave of studies began to gain strength in the year 2001, with the so-called “ the practice turn”, comprising the research of Schatzki, Knorr Cetina, and Von Savigny (Warde, 2016). These studies sought to focus on practices as the central unit of analysis, and authors sought to understand practices in the social sphere (Bourdieu, 1977; Giddens, 1984; Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki, 2002; Shove et al., 2012). Although the studies have different concerns when approaching the practices, Schatzki (2012) presents three similarities between the authors. Initially, the understanding that the practice is organized by the activities of different people is shared within the approach. The second refers to the attention that the characteristics of human activities should be understood through practices. Finally, the view that human activity does not require the separation between subject and objective, common to other philosophical approaches (Schatzki, 2012).

Within consumption studies, Warde's (2005) study represents a milestone in demonstrating how elements of practice can be represented (Welch, 2020). In addition to defining the elements of practice, another approach that stands out on the subject is the concern with sustainable consumption (Jaeger-Erben, Rückert-John; & Schäfer, 2015; Mylan, 2015; Sahakian, Leuzinger & Saloma, 2017). However, it is still necessary to pay attention to the understanding of which themes may arise or could be better developed within the field of consumption, which are the main authors, journals, and research centers, and finally, how are the collaborations between the productions.

The present study aims at a bibliometric analysis of practice theory and consumption within the field of management. For that, the support of the Biblioshiny tool was adopted in the analysis of the studies. Biblioshiny uses the R software language through the Bibliometrix package (Aria; & Cuccurullo, 2017). The results make it possible to identify the evolution of production to date, as well as the analysis of thematic groupings and topics that may become relevant to the field of research.

Although recent studies have sought to develop some analysis on practice theory (Corsini Et Al., 2019; Welch, Halkier & Keller, 2020), this study seeks to advance some considerations as follows. Unlike Welch et al. (2020), the present study does not only aim to focus the analysis on the approximation of cultural elements within practice theory but to understand different perspectives presented in international publications in English. Corsini et al. (2019) sought to develop a bibliometric analysis of studies that adopted practice theory within the field of consumption until 2018. However, the authors adopted only one database (Scopus), with the focus of the research concentrated on studies on sustainable consumption. The present study sought to adopt more databases, using the Web of Science and Scopus, in addition to including other types of consumption than just sustainable consumption.

2 Comprehensions of Practices as a Social Phenomenon

Considering a different perception from other social theories, which use mental contents, interactions, or discourses to understand social phenomena, practice theory adopts practices as the central unit of analysis (Reckwitz, 2002). The practices involve the understanding of how different elements are interconnected and with that, they model behaviors, emotions, and meanings (Reckwitz, 2002). Schatzki (1996) exposes two central perceptions of practices: practices as a coordinating entity and practices as a performance.

From the perception of a coordinated entity, the practices comprise “temporally unfolded and spatially dispersed nexuses of actions and sayings” (Schatzki, 1996, p. 89), that is, they involve interactions of elements, by which practical activities (actions) and activities are understood. their representations (Warde, 2005). The constitution of these nexuses requires the sharing of explicit understandings, rules, or principles, or what the author calls “teleoaffective” structures, which encompass tasks, purposes, beliefs, emotions, and mood (Schatzki, 1996). As an example, the author presents the practice of cooking, the practice of voting, and the recreational practice.

On the other hand, the notion of performance, “denotes the doing, the actual activity or energization, at the heart of the action” (Schatzki, 1996, p. 92). Warde (2005) states that this perception comprises the realization of practices, that is, the performance of doings and sayings and sustaining the practices. Thus, practices depend on the existence of coordinated entities, but also performance (Schatzki, 1996; Warde, 2005).

In addition to understanding the term “practices”, the studies emphasize the understanding of practices as a social phenomenon (Schatzki, 2002). Through them, different social phenomena can be interpreted, such as the understanding of human coexistence (Lodi, 2018). With this understanding, studies have sought to analyze how practices are developed and change society (Halkier, Katz-Gerro & Martens, 2011; Isboli, 2019).

Reckwitz (2002) presents practices as social, as they comprise “forms/types” of activities that are developed in different places, different moments in time, and by different people (mind/bodies). This spatiotemporal dimension of practices is also presented by Schatzki (2012), in which the author argues that the spatiotemporal entanglement of activities by different people consists of the existence of common elements, which interact, are shared, and orchestrated. To understand social phenomena, studies by Bourdieu (1977), Giddens (1984), Reckwitz (2002), Schatzki (2002) Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012) sought to analyze the elements that make up the practices.

To understand the interaction between the elements of the practices proposed by Reckwitz (2002), Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012) analyzed the materials, skills, and meanings to be applied in studies on different social practices. These elements presented by Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012) have proven to be more applicable, than previous studies, for the understanding of social phenomena through practices (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). For Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012), social practices are composed of the association of these three elements at a moment in time, namely: material elements, competence elements, and meaning elements.

Elements change and are changed over time (Figure 1), thus changing the understanding of how a practice is constituted (Williams et al., 2018). As practices involve the interaction between these components, Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012) also highlight moments when elements exist but are not associated (proto-practices) and moments when practices disintegrate, that is, when these associations between the elements are no longer sustained (ex-practices).

Figure 1

Interaction between the elements of the practices at different moments in time   

Source: Extract from Shove, Pantzar and Watson (2012, p. 25)

Material elements comprise the objects, technologies, physical entities, and materials by which objects are made (Shove, Pantzar & Watson, 2012). They involve the “material dimensions” of practices, that is, the tools and bodily elements used in the performance of practices (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). Competency elements are identified through skills, knowledge, and techniques necessary for the execution of practices (Shove, Pantzar & Watson, 2012). Warde (2005) distinguishes the competence related to knowledge to evaluate performances, from the competence to have the necessary skills for the performance. The elements of competence depending on the individual's cognitive ability to understand and know about practices (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). Finally, the elements of meaning include the symbolic meanings, ideas, and aspirations involved in the performance of practices. These elements comprise mental activities, emotions, and motivations (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017).

Social practices do not occur in isolation (Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki, 2012). The interactions between the elements are overlapping and common among different practices. These can be material (equipment) or abstract (understanding) (Hui, 2017). In this way, the elements of practice relate within and between different practices, which strengthen some complex social arrangements, as well as can separate them at certain times (Shove, Pantzar & Watson, 2012).

3 Methodological procedures

The systematic literature review methodology has been used to analyze and review scientific publications (Wang et al., 2021). Although it is relevant for the analysis of the research scenario within a theme, some limitations end up being highlighted. Whether through the time required for the development of the study (WANG et al., 2019) or even by subjective factors of analysis of the authors (Addo-Tenkorang & Helo, 2016).

The bibliometric analysis enables the processing of a large amount of information, allowing the visualization and understanding of published themes (Wang et al., 2021). Different software helps in this analysis (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017; Cobo et al., 2011b), among them, the Bibliometrix tool for R software (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017) has recently been used satisfactorily in studies in different fields (Bardhan, 2021; Singh & Arti, 2021; Wang et al., 2021).

For the first step of the methodology, the present study adopted the Scopus and Web of Science databases as data sources for surveying studies on the subject (Cobo et al., 2011b). Previous research has already adopted these bases as a source for surveying materials (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017; Bardhan, 2021; Cobo et al., 2011a; Singh, Jasbir & Arti, 2021; Wang, Jianxin, et al., 2021), with two relevant bases among academic resource systems (Cobo et al., 2011b; Hu et al., 2020). Figure 2 presents the steps adopted for the selection of materials relevant to the research.

Figure 2

Data selection and refinement

Source: Developed by the authors

For the selection of studies within the databases, we initially sought to separate the studies within the area of business (business) and management (management). Subsequently, the following search terms were adopted: "Practice Theory" AND ("consumer" OR "consumption"). The use of practice theory as the main theoretical framework for the proposed analysis was also taken into account. As exposed by Isboli (2019), there is not a single “theory” of practice, but a set of theories of practice for understanding social phenomena (Bourdieu, 1977; Giddens, 1984; Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki, 2002; Shove, Pantzar & Watson, 2012). The other focus of the study is to understand how practice theory has been adopted in studies on consumption and consumer behavior (WARDE, 2005, 2016). Thus, we sought to use the terms consumer or consumption as a way of selecting documents published internationally in English.

For the refinement of the data collected in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, the selection of studies that effectively employed practice theory in the development of the research was adopted. As exposed by Aria and Cuccurullo (2017), the bibliometrix was initially developed with support for Scopus and Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science. Later updates made it possible to include PubMed, Digital Science Dimensions, and Cochrane databases to perform the analyses. The PubMed and Cochrane databases concentrate on studies in the health area. The Digital Science Dimensions database presents a recent alternative for mapping studies within the area of social sciences (Singh, Vivek Kumar, et al., 2021). However, as exposed by Singh et al. (2021), the Scopus database and Web of Science cover respectively 37% and 96% of Dimension studies. Aria and Cuccurullo (2017) add those different databases can cover the scientific field in different ways, and article data can be released in different ways. The use of Scopus and Web of Science databases is traditionally recognized in bibliometric studies (Singh, Vivek Kumar, et al., 2021).

Among the platforms aligned to the tool, the Scopus and Web of Science platforms are suitable for the analysis of studies within the proposed theme. As well, by grouping data from different databases, we sought to remove studies that were duplicated. After refining the database, 159 studies were eligible. Table 1 presents some information from the database. Eligible documents include studies developed between January 1, 2005, and June 30, 2021. The base comprises research published in different formats, including articles, books, book chapters, and articles published in events and reviews.

The 159 studies have a total of 377 authors, with an average of two authors per study. As previously presented, for data analysis, the Biblioshiny tool was used. This tool uses the R software language through the Bibliometrix package (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). Bibliometric analysis can be used by different methodologies (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017; Cobo et al., 2011b; Wang et al., 2021). For the study, the first methodology comprises a descriptive analysis of the data, in which we sought to identify the main authors of the publications, the main references, and main journals (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017; Cobo et al., 2011b).

Table 1

Main database information

Source: Developed by the authors

Subsequently, the co-citation method was adopted, which seeks to identify the presence of two articles in the references in different studies (Small, 1973). This technique makes it possible to identify changes in paradigms and schools of thought when analyzed over time (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). Another technique adopted was the coupling method (Kessler, 1963), in which bibliographically coupled articles are identified when at least one of the cited references appears in the bibliography of both documents, enabling the identification of connections in research groups (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017). Finally, we sought to adopt the clustering method, which divides a certain number of elements into different groupings, considering the level of similarity between the elements (Lee & Lee, 2018) and thematic analysis (Cobo et al., 2011a). The next section presents the results found in the study.

4 Analysis of Results and Discussion

As demonstrated in the methodology section, the study initially sought to carry out a descriptive analysis of the productions developed. As shown in Figure 3, the evolution in the production of the theme after 2005 was identified. The annual growth rate is 20.11%. The approximation between practice theory and studies on consumption was made possible through the study by Warde (2005), in which the author develops the premise that consumption is developed through practices as the consumer needs skills, adequate tools, and meanings in the conduct of consumption practice. 

Figure 3

Evolution in the development of the theme

Source: Developed by the authors

After this important approach by Warde (2005) to the theme, the contribution of authors such as Fuentes (8 studies), Elms (4), De Kervernoael, Halkier, Molander, Rau, and Spaargaren (3 studies each) in the production of studies during the period. Fuentes concentrated a large part of his studies on sustainable consumption practices, associating them with topics such as purchasing strategies and tools, building products in green marketing, sustainable consumption, and services. More recently, the author sought to address the use of digital technologies in purchasing practices. Elms presented an emphasis on shopping practices, seeking to understand pre-purchase experiences, the use of technologies for online shopping, and also the adoption of technologies (serf-services) in in-person shopping practices. Figure 4 presents the academic production developed by the authors over the period. Although Fuentes developed the largest number of studies during the period, which can be observed through the amount produced within the same year, it is possible to identify the contribution of Elms with a longer production time within the theme, comprising the period of 2007 to 2018.

Figure 4

Production by authors over the years

Source: Developed by the authors

Among the most relevant journals for the production of the theme are the Journal of Consumer Culture (28 studies), Journal of Cleaner Production (15), International Journal of Consumer Studies (10), Consumption Markets and Culture and Marketing Theory (8 each), European Journal of Marketing (6), and Journal of Business Research and Journal of Marketing Management (5 each). Using the division by zone developed by Bradford’s Law, it was possible to identify the core of journals responsible for the development of the theme (Nash-Stewart, Kruesi & Del Mar, 2012). As shown in Figure 5, three journals are in the central area of studies involving Practice Theory and Consumption, namely the Journal of Consumer Culture, Journal of Cleaner Production, and the International Journal of Consumer Studies.

The second stage of data analysis comprises the co-citation and coupling between the studies developed. Considering the countries of the institutions to which the authors are linked, Figure 6 presents the map of collaboration between the studies. The darker the color of the country, the greater the number of publications developed. Also, the thicker the line between countries, the greater the amount of collaboration between them.

Figure 5

Journals relevant to the theme

Source: Developed by the authors

Among the countries (institutions) with the highest production, there are institutions in the United Kingdom in 48 studies (University of Manchester; University West England; University of London), the United States in 37 studies (University of Illinois at Chicago; University of Nevada; University of Arizona), Sweden in 28 studies (Lund University; University of Gothenburg; Stockholm University), Finland in 25 studies (University of Helsinki; Hanken School of Economics; University of Vaasa) and Australia in 20 studies (RMIT University; James Cook University; University of Melbourne). Among the collaboration between countries, the main collaborations are associated with study centers located in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Figure 6

Map of collaboration between countries

Source: Developed by the authors.

Analyzing the co-citation network between the bibliographic references of the studies (Figure 7), it is possible to identify two groups of studies. As highlighted by Warde (2016), the development of studies on practice theory can be analyzed in two waves. On one side (blue color), there are studies based on ideas developed by Pierre Bourdieu and Anthony Giddens with the purpose of understanding “action” in a complementary way in the understanding of systems and structures (WARDE, 2016). Another aspect of the research has as its main point the study by Warde (2005) (in red). Analyzing the references associated with Warde's study, studies by Schatzki, Reckwitz, and Shove are identified, identified in the second wave of Practice Theory, recognized as “the practice turn” (WARDE, 2016).

These studies seek to analyze practices as a unit of analysis for understanding complex phenomena of social practices. We highlight the study by Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012), which present the material elements, competence, and meanings to be applied in studies on practices in different social phenomena. Fuentes and Svingstedt (2017) expose that these elements are more applicable for empirical analysis, which can evidence the large number of studies adopting the elements of practice developed by Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012), as presented among the identified associations in Figure 7.

Figure 7 

Theoretical grouping

Source: Developed by the authors.

Seeking to understand the thematic groupings within the base used, the clustering of documents was adopted based on the keywords presented by the studies (Figure 8). It is identified great attention of the studies to the sustainable consumption practices. However, it is possible to identify the presence of four relevant groups, being formed by studies related to sustainable consumption, collaborative consumption, shopping and food practices, and green marketing.

Among the studies on sustainable consumption practices, the relevance of studies by Sahakian, Leuzinger, and Saloma (2017) and Mylan (2015) stands out. Sahakian, Leuzinger, and Saloma (2017) sought to understand how some sustainable social practices influence changes in consumption practices. The authors show some stages for the application of social practices in sustainable objectives, as well as, they identified some pitfalls to be avoided. Mylan (2015) seeks to use practice theory to understand more sustainable consumption and production.

Consumption practices are also evident in studies on collaborative consumption. Within the context of a collaborative economy, different consumption practices can be analyzed, either through vehicle sharing (Guyader, 2018) or by loaning products (Piscicelli; Cooper & Fisher, 2015). Social practices were used to understand the social values associated with consumers, as well as an understanding of how elements of collaborative consumption practice are organized using the study by Shove, Pantzar, and Watson (2012).

Figure 8

Thematic clustering of studies

Source: Developed by the authors.

Studies on shopping practices were more frequent among the identified groups. Studies by Bulmer, Elms and Moore (2018), Elms, De Kervenoael and Hallsworth (2016), Fuentes, Hagberg and Kjellberg (2019) and Fuentes and Svingstedt (2017) stand out. Shopping practices have been analyzed in different contexts, whether in physical stores or through the internet (Elms, De Kervenoael & Hallsworth, 2016). Recently, digital technologies are gaining greater relevance, whether through consumer interaction with devices within physical stores (Bulmer, Elms & Moore, 2018), through portable devices such as smartphones (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017), and through online platforms, such as music streaming (Fuentes, Hagberg & Kjellberg, 2019).

Finally, food consumption and green marketing practices were also highlighted. Within the context of green marketing, studies by Fuentes (2014, 2015) stand out, in which marketing practices associated with products that have less impact on the environment are evaluated. Food consumption is analyzed through practices within the family context, as a way of evaluating changes between family generations (Trees & Dean, 2018), as well as passing on lessons on food waste (Revilla & Salet, 2018).

Figure 9 shows how the different topics are being worked on within the theme. As presented by Cobo et al. (2011a), the topics found in the upper right quadrant (Motor Themes) represent the well-developed themes that were important for the structuring of the research field. The themes in the upper left quadrant (Niche Themes) present themes that are well developed internally, but with little relationship to other themes. The lower right quadrant (Basic Themes) addresses issues that have not yet been addressed by the theme, but which are important. Finally, the lower left quadrant (Emerging or Declining Themes) exposes themes that have been little explored and are marginally associated with the theme (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017; Cobo et al., 2011a).

Figure 9 

Thematic Map

Source: Developed by the authors.

As discussed above, the presence of studies associated with themes involving consumption and sustainable practices is relevant (Jaeger-Erben, Rückert-John & Schäfer, 2015; Mylan, 2015; Sahakian, Leuzinger & Saloma, 2017). McColl-Kennedy, Cheung, and Ferrier (2015) in an analysis of production identified the emergence of themes about family consumption practices and concerns about the impact of consumption on climate change. Recent studies on sustainable consumption practices have sought to evaluate the aid of technology in sustainable consumption (Fuentes, Cegrell & Vesterinen, 2021), the impact that institutional interventions can contribute to sustainability (Pekkanen, 2021), and, on the other hand, on the development of resistance in sustainable consumption (Gonzalez-Arcos et al., 2021) and, finally, in the mitigation of barriers in green consumption practices (Beatson, Gottlieb & Pleming, 2020).

Topics such as collaborative consumption and ecological production are also among the most developed. When considering collaboration between consumers, different purposes are identified, either by sharing ownership or by the efficiency of the process (Fraanje & Spaargaren, 2019). Therefore, the authors identify that the type of collaborative consumption is not based only on personal attitudes, but on the organization of consumption practices. The internet and new mobile applications have enabled different ways of sharing consumption (Guyader, 2018; Piscicelli, Cooper & Fisher, 2015).

In line with the use of the internet and technological devices, a highlight within the studies on the subject are the practices associated with shopping (Bulmer, Elms & Moore, 2018; Elms, De Kervenoael & Hallsworth, 2016; Fuentes, Bäckström & Svingstedt, 2016; Fuentes, Bäckström & Svingstedt, 2017; Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). The elements of the practices are adopted in the analysis of shopping activities made in physical stores, as well as in virtual environments. Smartphones have changed the way consumers carry out their shopping practices, impacting different stages of the shopping process (Fuentes & Svingstedt, 2017). Devices also modify the way retailscape is configured (Fuentes,  Bäckström; & Svingstedt, 2017). The adoption of other technologies such as self-service (Bulmer, Elms & Moore, 2018) and the use of artificial intelligence in devices in stores (Moore, Bulmer & Elms, 2022) reconfigure the practices developed by consumers.

Studies on practices in energy use still do not have a great development within the administration area. However, recent studies within the field of engineering have been using practice theory as a way of understanding energy use by consumers to adopt best practices (Byrne & Bartiaux, 2017; Standal, Talevi & Westskog, 2020; Stelmach et al., 2020). Finally, topics such as food waste and practices within the tourism sector were still little explored within the theme. Food waste prevention focuses on household consumption practices (Lehtokunnas et al., 2020; Revilla & Salet, 2018; Schanes, Dobernig & Gözet, 2018), new technologies such as websites and applications have been sought to assist in this evaluation (Devaney, 2017; Davies, 2017; Fuentes, Cegrell & Vesterinen, 2021). Consumption practices within the theme of tourism are concentrated in Asia and Oceania (Bardhi, Ostberg & Bengtsson, 2010; Iaquinto, 2016; Jin, Moscardo& Murphy, 2020, 2021; Liu, Browne & Iossifova, 2021). Among the evaluations of tourist shopping practices, there is a focus on the Chinese context, which is presented as a new consumer culture of contemporary China (Jin, Moscardo & Murphy, 2020).

Through this analysis of studies on Practice Theory and Consumption, it is possible to identify the different themes with which the evaluation of practices is being applied to the evaluation of consumption habits. As exposed by Fuentes and Svingstedt (2017), the elements of practice (Shove, Pantzar & Watson, 2012) have proven to be relevant for the understanding of social phenomena. Themes such as sustainable and collaborative consumption are still fundamental in the current context. But topics such as shopping practices, food consumption, and energy consumption have shown to be promising with the analysis of practice theory.

5 Final Considerations

The present study advances the understanding of how practice theory is being used in studies on consumption and consumer behavior in the field of administration. Although the field is developed in the understanding of sustainable consumption practices, new themes are gaining prominence. The understanding of energy consumption practices, food practices, and shopping practices were identified as themes that have room for development within the field.

Our analyzes made it possible to understand the main authors, their productions, research growth rate, and main journals that contributed to the development of the theme. In addition, we sought to understand the cooperation between research groups in different research centers and countries, still concentrated in North America and Europe. Four thematic groupings were identified, as sustainable consumption practices, shopping practices, collaborative practices and food consumption practices, and green marketing.

Some limitations should be highlighted in the interpretation of the analyses. As it is a bibliometric study, some assumptions for the choice of terms, area of concentration of studies, and databases were determined for the choice and selection of studies. The use of different terms, other languages, and databases can present other results for the subject. In a complementary way, the support of the Biblioshiny tool was used for data analysis. New tool updates and different software can complement the interpretation of the data.

Finally, there are still many avenues for using practice theory within consumption studies. This study contributes to a mapping of current international production and enables a visualization of themes that are beginning to evolve. Future research may seek to map Brazilian production within the theme. A comparative analysis can point to different attentions. Databases from Scielo, Spell, and the Bank of Theses and Dissertations from CAPES can present the development of studies in the national context. However, limitations in the refinement of metadata extracted from databases may limit the use of the tool. In a complementary way, the present study mapped the main topics under development through practice theory for each identified theme. Although well established with the analysis of elements of practice, studies on sustainable consumption continue to be relevant considering climate change, new regulations, and consumer awareness. For collaborative consumption, new insights into how the practice is organized and how to add value to them can favor collaborative practices. For shopping practices, further research may seek to understand different shopping practices, whether in physical or virtual stores. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and big data have become relevant in the shopping scenario. As well, there is an important way to understand the practices in food consumption activities for different consumers and different social contexts. 

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