What makes a “fake” seemingly “authentic”? The case of Rick’s Café, known worldwide for the movie Casablanca, situates that question. Rick’s was a set constructed on a Hollywood sound stage. Another Rick’s was created materially in Casablanca decades later. Consumers are aware of this liminal condition. It is the reflexivity inherent in this awareness of performative inauthenticity that makes the case both appropriate and nuanced as an opportunity to explore paradoxes of authenticity embodied in a tourist place. The authenticity-fakery relationship is considered theoretically, not as a dualism (either-or), but as a duality (both-and). Empirically, the case is analyzed through an onsite investigation and a virtual ethnography. Four paradoxical dimensions of authenticity (liminal environment, liminal interpretation, liminal affectivity, and liminal recreation) are identified. Tourists, we submit, may experience several authenticities (i.e., objective, constructed, and existential) simultaneously and paradoxically, contributing to a reconceptualization of the tourist experience.
AnthonyA. K.JoshiA. (2017). (In)authenticity work: Constructing the realm of inauthenticity through Thomas Kinkade. Journal of Consumer Culture, 17(3), 752–773. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540515623611
3.
ApostolopoulosY.LeivadiS.YiannakisA. (Eds.). (2013). The sociology of tourism: Theoretical and empirical investigations. Routledge.
BagnallG. (1996). Consuming the past. In EdgellS.HetheringtonK.WardeA. (Eds.), Consumption matters: The production and experience of consumption (pp. 227–247). Blackwell.
6.
BaudrillardJ. (1983). Simulations. Semiotext(e).
7.
BelkR. W.CostaJ. A. (1998). The mountain man myth: A contemporary consuming fantasy. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(3), 218–240. https://doi.org/10.1086/209536
8.
BertiM.SimpsonA. V.CunhaM. P.CleggS. (2021). Elgar introduction to organizational paradox theory. Edward Elgar.
9.
BeverlandM. B.FarrellyF. J. (2010). The quest for authenticity in consumption: Consumers’ purposive choice of authentic cues to shape experienced outcomes. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(5), 838–856. https://doi.org/10.1086/615047
10.
BojeD. M. (1995). Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as “Tamara-Land”. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 997–1035. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429431678-19
11.
BrewerJ. D. (2005). Ethnography. Open University Press.
ChhabraD. (2005). Defining authenticity and its determinants: Toward an authenticity flow model. Journal of Travel Research, 44(1), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287505276592
16.
ChronisA.HamptonR. D. (2008). Consuming the authentic Gettysburg: How a tourist landscape becomes an authentic experience. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 7(2), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.241
17.
CodyK. (2012). No longer, but not yet: Tweens and the mediating of threshold selves through liminal consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture, 12(1), 41–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540512438155
18.
CodyK.LawlorK. (2011). On the borderline: Exploring liminal consumption and the negotiation of threshold selves. Marketing Theory, 11(2), 207–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593111403220
CorleyK. G.DennisA. (2011). Building theory about theory building: What constitutes a theoretical contribution?The Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 12–32. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0486
21.
CreswellJ. W.PothC. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
22.
CunhaM. P.CleggS. (2018). Persistence in paradox. In MosheF.SmithW. K.LangleyA.TsoukasH. (Eds.), Perspectives on process organization studies: Dualities, dialectics and paradoxes in organizational life (pp. 14–34). Oxford University Press.
23.
DarveauJ.Cheikh-AmmarM. (2021). The interplay between liminality and consumption: A systematic literature review with a future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), 867–888. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12678
EldhA. C.ÅrestedtL.BerteröC. (2020). Quotations in qualitative studies: Reflections on constituents, custom, and purpose. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920969268
28.
ElliotS.PapadopoulosN. (2016). Of products and tourism destinations: An integrative, cross-national study of place image. Journal of Business Research, 69(3), 1157–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.031
29.
ErikssonP.KovalainenA. (2015). Qualitative methods in business research: A practical guide to social research (2nd ed.). Sage.
30.
FagbolaL.McEachernM. G.RaftopoulouE. (2023). Liminal consumption within Nigerian wedding rituals: The interplay between bridal identity and liminal gatekeepers. Marketing Theory, 23(3), 437–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931221148514
31.
FarjounM.MahmoodN. (2023). On habit and organizing: A transactional perspective relating firms, consumers and social institutions. Organization Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.15803
32.
FeldmanM.OrlikowskiW. (2011). Theorizing practice and practicing theory. Organization Science, 22(5), 1240–1253. https://doi.org/10.2307/41303116
33.
FjellmanS. M. (1992). Vinyl leaves: Walt Disney World and America. Westview Press.
34.
GaimM.CleggS.CunhaM. P.BertiM. (2022). Organizational paradox. Cambridge University Press.
35.
GioiaD. (2021). A systematic methodology for doing qualitative research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 57(1), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886320982715
36.
GioiaD.CorleyK.HamiltonA. (2013), Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151
37.
GioiaD.PriceK.HamiltonA.ThomasJ. (2010). Forging an identity: An insider-outsider study of processes involved in the formation of organizational identity. Administrative Science Quarterly, 55(1), 1–46. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2010.55.1.1
38.
GistriG.RomaniS.PaceS.GabrielliV.GrappiS. (2009). Consumption practices of counterfeit luxury goods in the Italian context. Journal of Brand Management, 16(5–6), 364–374. http://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2008.44
39.
GraysonK.MartinecR. (2004). Consumer perceptions of iconicity and indexicality and their influence on assessments of authentic market offerings. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(2), 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1086/422109
40.
HackleyC.BrownS.TiwsakulR. (2012). The X factor enigma: Simon Cowell and the marketization of existential liminality. Marketing Theory, 12(4), 451–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593112457738
HedeA.ThyneM. (2010). A journey to the authentic: Museum visitors and their negotiation of the inauthentic. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(7–8), 686–705. https://doi.org/10.1080/02672571003780106
43.
HietanenJ.MurrayJ. B.SihvonenA.TikkanenH. (2020). Seduced by “fakes”: Producing the excessive interplay of authentic/counterfeit from a Baudrillardian perspective. Marketing Theory, 20(1), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593119870214
44.
HineC. (2008). Virtual ethnography: Modes, varieties, affordances. In LeeR. M.BlankG. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of online research methods (pp. 257–270), Sage.
45.
HosanyS.EkinciY.UysalM. (2006). Destination image and destination personality: An application of branding theories to tourism places. Journal of Business Research, 59(5), 638–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.01.001
KirillovaK.LehtoX.CaiL. (2017). Tourism and existential transformation: An empirical investigation. Journal of Travel Research, 56(5), 638–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516650277
49.
KnudsenB. T.WaadeA. M. (2010). Performative authenticity in tourism and spatial experience: Rethinking the relations between travel, place and emotion. In KnudsenB. T.WaadeA. M. (Eds.), Re-investing authenticity: Tourism, place and emotions (pp. 1–19). Channel View.
50.
KrigerK. (2012). Rick’s Cafe: Bringing the legend to life in Casablanca. Lyons Press.
51.
LeighT. W.PetersC.SheltonJ. (2006). The consumer quest for authenticity: The multiplicity of meanings within the MG subculture of consumption. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(4), 481–493. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070306288403
52.
LipovetskyG. (2021). Le sacre de l’authenticité. Gallimard.
53.
LoureiroS. M. C.SarmentoE. M. (2019). Place attachment and tourist engagement of major visitor attractions in Lisbon. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 19(3), 368–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358418761211
54.
MacCannellD. (1973). Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology, 79(3), 589–603. https://doi.org/10.1086/225585
55.
MagnaniG.GioiaD. (2023). Using the Gioia methodology in international business and entrepreneurship research. International Business Review, 32(2), 102097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.102097
56.
MasseyD. (1994). Space, place, and gender. University of Minnesota Press.
57.
MeyersonD. E.ScullyM. A. (2009). Crossroads tempered radicalism and the politics of ambivalence and change. Organization Science, 6(5), 585–600. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.6.5.585
58.
MickD. G.FournierS. (1998). Paradoxes of technology: Consumer cognizance, emotions, and coping strategies. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(2), 123–143. https://doi.org/10.1086/209531
59.
MooreK.BuchmannA.MånssonM.FisherD. (2021). Authenticity in tourism theory and experience. Practically indispensable and theoretically mischievous?Annals of Tourism Research, 89, 103208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103208
60.
NewholmT.HopkinsonG. C. (2009). I just tend to wear what I like: Contemporary consumption and the paradoxical construction of individuality. Marketing Theory, 9(4), 439–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593109346896
NordlandR. (2018a, July31). Kathy Kriger, 72, whose Cafe brought “Casablanca” to life. The New York Times, A23.
63.
NordlandR. (2018b, July2). Of all the gin joints in all the world, she made this one real. The New York Times, A4.
64.
NunesJ. C.OrdaniniA.GiambastianiG. (2021). The concept of authenticity: What it means to consumers. Journal of Marketing, 85(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242921997081
65.
OgleJ. P.TynerK. E.Schofield-TomschinS. (2013). The role of maternity dress consumption in shaping the self and identity during the liminal transition of pregnancy. Journal of Consumer Culture, 13(2), 119–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540513480161
66.
PentlandB. T. (1999). Building process theory with narrative: From description to explanation. The Academy of Management Review, 24(4), 711–724. https://doi.org/10.2307/259350
67.
PineJ. B.IIGilmoreJ. H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97–105.
68.
PineJ. B.IIGilmoreJ. H. (1999). The experience economy: Work is theatre & every business a stage. Harvard Business School Press.
69.
QuH.KimL. H.ImH. H. (2011). A model of destination branding: Integrating the concepts of the branding and destination image. Tourism Management, 32(3), 465–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.03.014
70.
RicklyJ. M. (2022). A review of authenticity research in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on authenticity. Annals of Tourism Research, 92, 103349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103349
71.
RicklyJ. M.VidonE. S.KnudsenD. C. (2021). Irreconcilable differences: Divorcing ethics from existential authenticity. Annals of Tourism Research, 88, 103174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103174
RoseR. L.WoodS. L. (2005). Paradox and the consumption of authenticity through reality television. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(2), 284–296. https://doi.org/10.1086/432238
74.
SaldañaJ. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Sage.
75.
SchadJ.LewisM. W.RaischS.SmithW. K. (2016). Paradox research in management science: Looking back to move forward. Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 5–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2016.1162422
76.
SkågebyJ. (2011). Online ethnographic methods: Towards a qualitative understanding of virtual community practices. In DanielB. K. (Ed.), Handbook of research on methods and techniques for studying virtual communities: Paradigms and phenomena (pp. 410–429). IGI Global.
77.
SmelikA. (2011). The performance of authenticity. Journal for Fashion Writing and Criticism, 1(1), 76–82. https://hdl.handle.net/2066/94721
78.
SmithW.LewisM. (2022). Both-and thinking. Harvard Business Review Press.
79.
SpiersJ.MorseJ. M.OlsonK.MayanM.BarrettM. (2018). Reflection/commentary on a past article: “Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research”. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690200100202
80.
SpiggleS. (1994). Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(3), 491–503. https://doi.org/10.1086/209413
81.
SpracklenK.LaurencicJ.KenyonA. (2013). “Mine’sa Pint of Bitter”: Performativity, gender, class and representations of authenticity in real-ale tourism. Tourist Studies, 13(3), 304–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797613498165
StepchenkovaS.BelyaevaV. (2021). The effect of authenticity orientation on existential authenticity and postvisitation intended Behavior. Journal of Travel Research, 60(2), 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287519899989
84.
SzmiginI.Bengry-HowellA.MoreyY.GriffinC.RileyS. (2017). Socio-spatial authenticity at co-created music festivals. Annals of Tourism Research, 63(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.12.007
TurnerV. (1964). “Betwixt and between”: The liminal period in rites de passage. In HelmJ. (Ed.), Symposium on new approaches to the study of religion (pp. 4–20). Proceedings of the 1964 Annual Spring Meeting of the American Ethnological Society. University of Washington Press.
87.
TurnerV. (1967). The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual. Cornell University Press.
WaldJ. (2017). The “Poet Hunters”: Transforming Emily Dickinson’s home into a literary destination. The Emily Dickinson Journal, 26(2), 71–98. https://doi.org/10.1353/edj.2017.0015
WangN. (1999). Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(2), 349–370; Reprinted as Wang, N. (2007). Rethinking authenticity in tourism experience. In TimothyD. J. (Ed.), The political nature of cultural heritage and tourism (pp. 469–490). Routledge.
92.
WhiteC.WoodfieldK.RitchieJ.OrmstonR. (2014). Writing up qualitative research. In RitchieJ.LewisJ.McNaughtonC. N.OrmstonR. (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. 368–400). Sage.
WoodhouseH. M. (2013). The essential Casablanca: 101 things you didn’t know about America’s favorite film. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
