ABSTRACT
In his widely lauded 2005 presidential address to the Association for Consumer Research (ACR), David Glen Mick (2006) offered the stark observation that the consumer research field had done very little to enhance the welfare of consumers. Mick’s pronouncement contained a certain degree of irony, as one of ACR’s founding principles in 1973 was to promote consumer well-being (Kernan, 1979). Over the past 4 decades, ACR members have produced an impressive body of research on consumer behavior. Unfortunately, little of this research has benefited consumers themselves. In short, the hopes and aspirations of the ACR as an agent of change have not been realized.
