The consumer on stage: Toward a typology of improvisation in consumption contexts

•Like jazz and performing artists, consumers improvise in response to external and internal stimuli.•Consumers do not improvise when they have formed a complete habit or have a ready-made solution.•Consumers have traits and skills that enable improvisation, but improvisational ability is not required.•Improvisation in consumption settings – the act, motivation, and improvisational ability – is context-dependent.•Four proposed improvisation types – necessity, socialized, everyday, and aspirational – vary in stakes and habit change. Consumers have responded to major environmental shocks throughout history by improvising to meet their immediate needs. Prior literature has focused on improvisation in organizational settings, yet there is still much to be learned about improvisation by individuals in consumption contexts. This research explores why, how, and when consumers improvise (and when they do not). It begins with two critical reviews of the literature on improvisation and related concepts. Next, this research entails a qualitative study with data from in-depth interviews with academic and industry experts. Findings reveal the nature of improvisation in consumption settings—the act, motivation, and improvisational ability. Based on the analysis of expert interview data, we propose a typology with four forms: necessity, socialized, everyday, and aspirational improv. We also present preliminary findings from an initial validation of the typology with consumer data. Given the exploratory nature of this work, we discuss future research avenues.