One more piece: transformative consumption experiences and organized sub-cultures of speed puzzling

Purpose Transformative consumption experiences present a significant business opportunity in the experience economy. However, due to their prolonged and sustained nature, consumer transformation processes have been difficult to research, resulting in a limited understanding of business opportunities of transformations involving specific sub-cultures. Design/methodology/approach To provide novel insights into consumer transformation processes and related business opportunities, this study adopts an autoethnographic approach to explore the researcher's personal transformation through the case of speed puzzling, a rapidly growing sports phenomenon where jigsaw puzzles are assembled competitively against time. Comprehensive reflective journaling (n = 106 journal entries) is used to systematically document the researcher's transformation journey of becoming a speed puzzler and joining the organized sub-culture of speed puzzlers over a continuous 16-month period. Findings The study illustrates how autoethnography may contribute to the understanding of sustained consumer transformations by highlighting the opportunities of monetizing transformative consumption experiences in the context of speed puzzling. Drawing on Pine and Gilmore's Experience Economy theory, Neuhofer's Transformative Experience Integration framework and the Hero's Journey model, findings offer theoretical insights into understanding consumer transformation processes and the formation of consumer sub-cultures. Originality/value Prior research on jigsaw puzzles has mainly focused on their benefits for health and well-being. There is a dearth of research on prolonged consumer consumption contexts in general and in the specific case of speed puzzling, limiting customer-oriented companies' ability to innovate around consumer transformation processes. This paper puts forward a novel six-stage consumer transformation process model and illustrates monetization opportunities across each stage.