Abstract

Consumer learning is often associated with positive experiences in marketing literature, where individuals voluntarily engage in acquiring a new consumption repertoire through market resources. In contrast, recent research has shown that learning can also occur in challenging scenarios, where individuals are forced to engage in an uncomfortable learning process, highlighting a clear division between hospitable and hostile environments. However, how do consumers learn in environments that offer both hostile and hospitable experiences? By studying the current menopause context in Canada, I investigate how individuals undergoing this physiological transition cope with uncomfortable bodily changes while engaging with a market that offers various learning resources. Drawing on in-depth interviews, passive netnography, archival data from Reddit forums, YouTube videos and podcasts, my findings reveal that complex vocabulary, idiosyncratic symptoms, diagnostic inaccuracy, and trial-and-error cycles shape the hostile menopause learning environment. Notably, in this environment, institutional resources from relevant health market actors emerge, offering both hospitable and hostile experiences to menopausal individuals. A similar duality is also observed among menopausal communities, where consumers connect to share experiences, seeking mutual support and additional learning resources. This research contributes to the literature on consumer learning, communities and market actors. From a practical perspective, the study also highlights issues in the current health care market and offers insights for both market actors and individuals navigating menopause.