Let H be the generic Iwahori–Hecke algebra associated with a finite Coxeter group W. Recently, we have shown that H admits a natural cellular basis in the sense of Graham and Lehrer, provided that W is a Weyl group and all parameters of H are equal. The construction involves some data arising from the Kazhdan–Lusztig basis {Cw} of H and Lusztig's asymptotic ring J}. We attempt to study J and its representation theory from a new point of view. We show that J can be obtained in an entirely different fashion from the generic representations of H, without any reference to {Cw}. We then extend the construction of the cellular basis to the case where W is not crystallographic. Furthermore, if H is a multi-parameter algebra, we see that there always exists at least one cellular structure on H. Finally, the new construction of J may be extended to Hecke algebras associated with complex reflection groups.