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Book part
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Patrik Aspers

This short text argues that a single moral – the notion’s etymology refers to the mores of a group or a society – must not be contested, but as soon as more than one morality is…

Abstract

This short text argues that a single moral – the notion’s etymology refers to the mores of a group or a society – must not be contested, but as soon as more than one morality is in play, there is a great chance that at least one or both are contested. It is also argued that man is moral by definition. Markets come, by definition, with struggles, but not all struggles in markets are moral. Most struggles in markets are economic, and most markets are not contested. Future research in the field of moral struggles could benefit from clearer distinctions of types of struggle.

Details

The Contested Moralities of Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-120-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Robert Birnbauer

When it comes to the analysis of markets, difference has been described as a tool for competition and for carving out specific target groups. Once it is taken as factual, the…

Abstract

When it comes to the analysis of markets, difference has been described as a tool for competition and for carving out specific target groups. Once it is taken as factual, the significance of difference for market processes is undoubted. Taking a practice theoretical perspective at the market for Islamic fashion in Berlin, this paper explores what comes before. It intends to investigate not only the effects of difference but also its performance. Investigating how difference is accomplished by entrepreneurs as active agents of the market will also shed light on the societal surroundings of the market and the ways in which it is embedded in its sociocultural and discursive environment, hence highlighting the significance of its context for economic action, and vice versa.

Details

Infrastructure, Morality, Food and Clothing, and New Developments in Latin America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-434-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Philip Balsiger and Simone Schiller-Merkens

Moral struggles in and around markets abound in contemporary societies where markets have become the dominant form of economic coordination. Reviewing research on morality and…

Abstract

Moral struggles in and around markets abound in contemporary societies where markets have become the dominant form of economic coordination. Reviewing research on morality and markets across disciplinary boundaries, this introductory essay suggests that a moral turn can currently be observed in scholarship, and draws a direct connection to recent developments in the sociology of morality. The authors introduce the chapters in the present volume “The Contested Moralities of Markets.” In doing so, the authors distinguish three types of moral struggles in and around markets: struggles around morally contested markets where the exchange of certain goods on markets is contested; struggles within organizations that are related to an organization’s embeddedness in complex institutional environments with competing logics and orders of worth; and moral struggles in markets where moral justifications are mobilized by a variety of field members who act as moral entrepreneurs in their striving for moralizing the economy. Finally, the authors highlight three properties of moral struggles in contemporary markets: They (1) arise over different objects, (2) constitute political struggles, and (3) are related to two broader social processes: market moralization and market expansion. The introduction concludes by discussing some of the theoretical approaches that allow particular insights into struggles over morality in markets. Collectively, the contributions in this volume advance our current understanding of the contested moralities of markets by highlighting the sources, processes, and outcomes of moral struggles in and around markets, both through tracing the creation, reproduction, and change of underlying moral orders and through reflecting the status and power differentials, alliances, and political strategies as well as the general cultural, social, and political contexts in which the struggles unfold.

Details

The Contested Moralities of Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-120-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Heike Derwanz

Buying secondhand clothing is not only interesting for consumers wanting to save money but also for sustainable clothing enthusiasts. It is now among a number of consumption…

Abstract

Buying secondhand clothing is not only interesting for consumers wanting to save money but also for sustainable clothing enthusiasts. It is now among a number of consumption practices which slow down fast fashion production while saving 10 to 20 times the energy (Fletcher, 2008, p. 100). While most of the recent scholarly work focuses on secondhand consumers (Bianchi & Birtwistle, 2010; Franklin, 2011; Norum, 2015), this paper aims to examine business activities. This perspective from economic anthropology enhances understandings of secondhand clothing, as research to-date has tended to neglect the semiotic function of clothing while underlining exchanges. To gain insight into the dynamics of the sector in Germany today, two businesses from Hamburg have been ethnographically examined by the author since 2014. This study outlines their work practices and explains the development of this high-end segment of the market from the 1970s until the digital age. For businesses, the digitalization of the trade has had massive effects on their business practice because it seems to solve inherent problems connected to the selling of pre-owned clothing. I argue that the digitalization did not only promote acceptance of buying secondhand clothing in Germany but also the emergence of new businesses models.

Details

Infrastructure, Morality, Food and Clothing, and New Developments in Latin America
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-434-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Alice Payne

The purpose of this paper is to identify both the inspiration sources used by fast fashion designers and ways the designers sort information from the sources during the product…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify both the inspiration sources used by fast fashion designers and ways the designers sort information from the sources during the product development process.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative study, drawing on semi-structured interviews conducted with the members of the in-house design teams of three Australian fast fashion companies.

Findings

Australian fast fashion designers rely on a combination of trend data, sales data, product analysis, and travel for design development ideas. The designers then use the consensus and embodiment methods to interpret and synthesise information from those inspiration sources.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical data used in the analysis were limited by interviewing fashion designers within only three Australian companies.

Originality/value

This research augments knowledge of fast fashion product development, in particular designers’ methods and approaches to product design within a volatile and competitive market.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Abstract

Details

The Contested Moralities of Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-120-9

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 28 September 2022

Jacqueline Joslyn

Abstract

Details

Conceptualizing and Modeling Relational Processes in Sociology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-827-5

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2017

Aaron van Klyton and Said Rutabayiro-Ngoga

The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurs, banks, the government, and alternative lending respond to finance gaps for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurs, banks, the government, and alternative lending respond to finance gaps for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper considers valuation as a sociological construct where actors use different calculative devices, forming an assemblage that partly positions valuation of entrepreneurial finance as a contested and socially constructed process.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the concept of “calculative devices”, the study articulates discursive institutional practices embedded within SME lending. This case study draws on analyses of 30 semi-structured interviews and archival data, government reports, and newspaper articles.

Findings

The study identified three triggers in Rwanda that were rooted in the informal and unincorporated nature of the SME governance structure, the lack of capacity for SME owners to manage their own projects, and normalising language around collateral requirements that marginalised the realities of SMEs, contributing to stagnation for SME finance.

Practical implications

The research provides direction for understanding how calculative devices create new forms of valuation of entrepreneurship in developing countries, particularly when human and non-human actors come together in an assemblage. The study calls for further research to demonstrate the embedded power of valuation practices and the performance of value in entrepreneurial finance.

Originality/value

The study brings new findings to the market creation literature by extending the notion of distributive calculative agency to SME finance. The study mobilises theory to interpret how discursive institutional practices are embedded within a country’s finance infrastructure, yielding unintended consequences for SME growth.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

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