Technological Development and Consumer (Dis)involvement in SoundCloud Service

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15161

Keywords:

consumer involvement, SoundCloud, Consumer Culture Theory

Abstract

This study is based on the approach of Consumer Culture Theory and aims to understand how the consumer reveals his involvement with the SoundCloud platform without using the service. Despite the growth of the Brazilian streaming market, the platform has struggled to monetize its offerings, an attractive proposition for its consumers. Considering that the platform emphasizes direct interaction between users and between users and creators, and that engagement is shaped by cultural contexts and nurtured by market cultures, we propose linking it to the user experience, embodied in the meanings attributed to everyday consumption. Using a qualitative and interpretive approach, we conducted seventeen in-depth interviews with users and used functional discourse analysis. Our results pointed to three strands of meaning: low interest in the service's offerings, a nostalgic attachment connecting users to the service, and a valorization of engagement with the user group. The importance placed on user interaction helped us deepen our understanding of the other two strands of meaning. Consumption, being an essentially complex, cultural, and collective activity or phenomenon, serves as a means for participants to construct themselves within the social spaces they frequent. We revealed how sociocultural, symbolic, and experiential aspects are essential to consumer relationships and, consequently, to establishing an emotional connection with the brand.

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Author Biographies

Helton Rafael Ferreira do Nascimento, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Bachelor's degree in Bilingual Executive Secretariat from the Garanhuns Faculty of Administrative Sciences (2013) and specialist in Business and People Management from the same institution (2015). Master's degree from the Graduate Program in Management, Innovation, and Consumption (PPGIC) at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Agreste Campus). Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Library Science and a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Information Science (PPGCI) at UFPE.

Flávia Zimmerle da Nóbreg a Costa, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Associate Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, attached to the Design and Communication Academic Unit at the Agreste Academic Center. PhD in Business Administration from the Federal University of Pernambuco. Permanent Member of the Graduate Program in Management, Innovation, and Consumption (PPGIC) at UFPE – Agreste Campus.

Marconi Freitas da Costa, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil). PhD in Management from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Management, Innovation, and Consumption (PPGIC). Permanent Professor of the Graduate Program in Management (PROPAD) at Federal University of Pernambuco. Coordinator of the Consumer Behavior Research Group registered in the CNPq Directory. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Consumer Behavior Review (CBR), and managed to index the Journal in the DOAJ and EBSCO databases. He is a founding member of SCORAI - Sustainable Consumption Research, Action, and Initiative in Brazil. 

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Published

2025-12-19

How to Cite

NASCIMENTO, Helton Rafael Ferreira do; A COSTA, Flávia Zimmerle da Nóbreg; COSTA, Marconi Freitas da. Technological Development and Consumer (Dis)involvement in SoundCloud Service. Journal of Administrative Sciences, [S. l.], v. 31, p. 1–14, 2025. DOI: 10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e15161. Disponível em: https://ojs.unifor.br/rca/article/view/15161. Acesso em: 8 aug. 2026.

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