Extraordinary consumer experiences: Why immersion and transformation cause trouble

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses how consumers are transformed in and out of immersion during extraordinary, long-lasting wilderness canoeing experiences. Based on a hermeneutic multi-phase empirical approach, we show how extraordinary experiences can be dynamic, multifaceted, and emergent. The positive connotations of prior research are questioned as we find that consumers face various paradoxes and ambiguities throughout the various consumption phases. While a major part of research today focuses on the co-creation efforts of consumers when they combine various on-site resource of experiencescapes, our findings point to the importance of understanding consumer resources. The distinction held between the ordinary and the extraordinary does not hold within the present context, and we discuss how role conflicts may influence transformation and immersion during consumption of experiences.