Ashlee  Humphreys

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor Humphreys studies consumer collaboration, both consumer interactions with other consumers and with companies.  Her current research focuses on online communities. One project looks at the development of norms and institutions on Wikipedia, and the other project assesses the exchange of value on YouTube. She also studies the effects of institutional barriers (legal, social, and cultural) on consumer practices.  Her current work in this area traces the development of the casino gambling industry from 1976 to the present. Lastly, she is interested developing theories for understanding fundamental consumer institutions such as ownership. Her work in this area proposes that consumption can be viewed in terms of access rather than ownership, a model that is useful for understanding the ways in which consumers use media properties and shared resources.

For more information, please see: Professor Humphreys' CV 

Education

Ph.D., Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Office

MTC 3-109

Phone

847-467-1820

Email

a-humphreys@northwestern.edu

Course Info

300 Consumer Insight

Research

Association for Consumer Research
American Sociological Association
International Communication Association

Publications / Presentations

Publications

Humphreys, Ashlee (2010), "Semiotic Structure and the Legitimation of Consumption Practices: The Case of Casino Gambling," Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 37 (October), 490 – 510.

Humphreys, Ashlee (2010), "Megamarketing: The Creation of Markets as a Social Process," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74 (March), 1–19.

Humphreys, Ashlee (2010), "Advertising," in World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, Illinois: World Book, Inc.

Humphreys, Ashlee (2010), “Co-Producing Experiences,” in Medill on Media Engagement, Edward Malthouse and Abe Peck Eds. Pine Forge Press.

Humphreys, Ashlee (2009), "Stacking the Deck: Gambling in Film and the Legitimation of Casino Gambling," in Explorations in Consumer Culture Theory, John F. Sherry and Eileen Fischer, eds. London ; New York: Routledge.

Humphreys, Ashlee and Kent Grayson (2008), "The Intersecting Roles of Consumer and Producer: A Critical Perspective on Co-Production, Co-Creation and Prosumption," Sociology Compass, 2.

Humphreys, Ashlee (2006), "The Consumer as Foucauldian ‘Object of Knowledge,’" Social Science Computer Review, 24 (3).