A relação do eu estendido com os negócios: o caso de uma oficina restauradora de Fuscas

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the factors related to the extended self that influence business and relationship with customers, from the perspective of the owner of a small company buying and selling VW Beetles in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. The research had a qualitative approach, of the descriptive type and with the technical procedure of the single case study. In order to carry out the data collection, an interview was made with the owner of the workshop in order to verify the category of analysis, segmentation of the VW Beetle and three subcategories starting from the purchase process, relationship with the customer after-sales and the economic factor for conservation of the cars. It was verified from the point of view of the garage owner, that the representation of the VW Beetle car exerts a sentimental and nostalgic meaning for the customers, by bringing back affective memories of when they had the model during the period in which it was still manufactured or even by some relative having owned a copy previously. Moreover, both the entrepreneur's identification with the vehicle and that of his clients contribute to a friendly relationship between them. It was also possible to attest that the extended self factor significantly favors the purchase decision of the garage’s customers by taking into consideration, precisely, the affective factor and identification with the VW Beetle benefiting the position adopted by the garage in its market niche.