Authenticity: Attribution, Value and Meaning

Consumers and scholars show increasing interest in authenticity in products, services, performances and places. As typically used, authenticity is an attribution which is socially constructed and appears in many domains of social life. The interest in authenticity presumes that its attribution conveys value and emerging evidence agrees. Authenticity, however, carries some very different meanings, including those about classification, morality, craftsmanship, and idiosyncrasy. Parsing these various interpretations requires attention to cultural and historical context.