Search results

1 – 10 of 129
Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Vinicius Brei and Mark Tadajewski

This paper aims to account for the crafting of the constellation of brand and consumer values around an everyday product, that of bottled water. This paper situates the…

2724

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to account for the crafting of the constellation of brand and consumer values around an everyday product, that of bottled water. This paper situates the exponential growth of this market in its historical and cultural context, paying particular attention to the fostering of the “social conditions of possibility” for this product in the French market. The socio-historical context and the interplay of stakeholders to the respondents’ understanding and uses of bottled water, highlighting the importance of a range of factors that made this market and product resonate with their requirements, are linked.

Design/methodology/approach

This account responds to the call for more engagement with social theory in marketing and consumer research (Brownlie and Hewer, 2011). It also connects with recent scholarly pleas for a displacement of the consumer from the center of our analytic attention (Askegaard and Linnet, 2011; Holt, 2012). It does so by using the social praxeology approach associated with Pierre Bourdieu to study the affirmation and sedimentation of the practices surrounding the consumption of bottled water in France.

Findings

Influential institutional actors invoked discourses of purity, nature and health, juxtaposing these with the risks of tap water consumption. These were cemented by the influence of pediatricians who encouraged changes in family drinking habits which translated into long-term shifts in consumer behavior. By contrast to studies of different contexts, our respondents were greatly enamored by the materiality of the products themselves, using these in innovative ways for aesthetic pursuits. The social praxeology approach uncovers how brand and consumer value have been constructed in the French bottled water market.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on the historical development and growth of the market for bottled water in France. It would be a valuable exercise to investigate other contexts to determine whether the strategies of symbolic competition, especially the use of expert intermediaries rich in cultural capital that can be identified, are reflected elsewhere.

Practical implications

Bottled water producers will have to confront the issue of the resource-intensiveness of their products. This feature stands in marked contrast to the symbolic capital and points of differentiation that producers have weaved around bottled water. Such contradictions will be exposed by actors in other fields (e.g. the environmental movement). This can be expected to have an impact on the consumption and viability of this market in future.

Originality/value

This paper uses a philosophical framework – social praxeology – to chart the development, affirmation and exponential growth of the bottled water market. Via a combination of historical re-construction and empirical research, it highlights the interactive relationships between government, producers and consumers, uncovering brand and consumer value creation.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 49 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2011

Toke Bjerregaard

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how actors within, on the surface, similar organizations cope and work with imposed institutional changes.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how actors within, on the surface, similar organizations cope and work with imposed institutional changes.

Design methodology/approach

This research is based on an ethnographic field study addressing why, despite being exposed to the same institutional demands, organizational actors respond by developing diverging institutional orders of appropriate organizational conduct. This research examines how middle managers and frontline staff in two similar Danish social care organizations respond to demands to adopt a New Public Management (NPM)‐based logic of individualized service delivery.

Findings

The study shows how institutional diversity may underlie apparently similar organizational structures and responses. NPM‐style modernization efforts partly converged with diverse professional motives and rationales around, on the surface, similar organizational changes. The findings illustrate how differential institutional orders are maintained by middle managers and frontline staff despite exposure to the same demands.

Research limitations/implications

There are different limitations to this ethnographic field study due to the character of the methodology, the limited number of organizations, informants and time span covered. Attending to micro‐level processes within organizations provides a rich understanding of how particular forms of organization and action emerge in response to institutional demands. This calls for more ethnographic research on how actors within organizations cope and work institutional change.

Originality/value

Relatively little organizational research has addressed how individual actors at the lower levels of organizations cope and work with institutional changes using ethnographic methodology.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 November 2021

Raphael Lissillour and Jean-Michel Sahut

Technological firms increasingly depend on open innovation to compete in hypercompetitive markets. To openly engage the creativity of a multitude of private actors, firms can rely…

Abstract

Purpose

Technological firms increasingly depend on open innovation to compete in hypercompetitive markets. To openly engage the creativity of a multitude of private actors, firms can rely on crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing challenges global companies as they span organizational boundaries to attract multiple local partners. Global companies must engage in boundary spanning to successfully communicate and create a sense of community with smaller local partners despite status and cultural differences. The collaboration between Google and developers in China deserves to be studied in particular, because it operates within a restricted market.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper argues that crowdsourcing for innovation on a global scale requires effective boundary spanning capabilities. These boundary-spanning practices ensure smooth cooperation with the crowd and solve problems relating to differences in status and organizational contexts. This study applies Bourdieu's theory of practice including the concept of capital (economic, intellectual, social and symbolic) to understand the social relationships between Google and a growing community of Chinese developers. It also draws on a case study including ten semistructured interviews, which have been triangulated with internal documents and data from selected websites.

Findings

Four types of capital (symbolic, intellectual, social and economic) have been identified as important devices to understand the sources of power and the stakes of Googlers and developers in the joint field. These types of capital contribute to structure the social fields in which developers and Google cooperate and their practice. The success of the collaboration between Google and Chinese developers can arguably be attributed to Google's ability to create boundary-spanning activities in order to reduce the endowment differential in the four types of capital and improve their communication. Therefore, this research provides a deep and conceptualized description of boundary-spanning practices, as well as providing a useful contribution for managers involved in crowdsourcing via platform in culturally different markets.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this study is methodological in nature, relating to the absence of interviews with board members of Google China who are reluctant to speak about Google activities in China for political raisons. This restriction is partly counterbalanced by the analysis of publicly available secondary data such as news and communications.

Practical implications

This research has generated practical recommendations for managers of organizations, which require optimal boundary spanning for crowdsourcing. Managers must understand the different sources of social boundaries between their organization and the crowd. The crowd should be segmented into smaller groups with distinctive identities, and organizations should systematically design boundary-spanning activities to address each boundary of each segment. The boundary-spanning activities involve a specific set of tools, programs and platforms to address the target group. Efficient boundary spanning depends on the necessity to select boundary spanners with high cultural intelligence and communication skills.

Social implications

This paper draws on Bourdieu's theory of practice to investigate the role of boundary spanning in crowdsourcing for innovation, specifically in the joint field between Google and Chinese developers. This research reveals how boundary objects such as developer documents, websites, programs and events are essential for developers to be able to participate on Google's platform. Companies should be prepared to invest in the design and delivery of boundary-spanning activities and objects, knowing that these are also a locus for negotiation with local partners.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature by applying the boundary-spanner theory to Google crowdsourcing practices within a restricted market. Bourdieu's theory of practice has proven to be a potent perspective with which to better understand the positive role of boundary spanners in the joint field between Google and Chinese developers. Moreover, this practice perspective has not been used in prior research to highlight power relations in crowdsourcing for innovation. This study has shown that, in addition to boundary objects, boundary spanners can also contribute in the transfer of intellectual capital, which is the pivotal resource for boundary spanning in this field.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2010

Valentini Moniarou‐Papaconstantinou, Anna Tsatsaroni, Athanassios Katsis and Vasilis Koulaidis

Using Bourdieu‐inspired sociological literature, this paper aims to report on a study that examines the educational choices of new entrants in the three library and information…

1221

Abstract

Purpose

Using Bourdieu‐inspired sociological literature, this paper aims to report on a study that examines the educational choices of new entrants in the three library and information science (LIS) schools operating in Greece at the undergraduate level, with reference to their socio‐cultural characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained through a questionnaire, distributed to 187 LIS students, aiming to address the question of what attracted them to the LIS field.

Findings

Analysis reveals three distinctive student groups in the sample and shows that these differ in respect to the reasons attracting them to LIS. The first group, with restricted cultural resources at their disposal, is attracted only by extrinsic reasons, namely the prospect of immediate employment. The second group, of middle level parental education, is attracted by intrinsic reasons, most notably the qualitative characteristics of the field as a future profession. This group seems to use these qualities to preserve the belief in an upwards moving and successful educational career. Qualities attracting the students of the third group, when examined with reference to their socio‐cultural characteristics, indicate that the choice of subject made is linked to their socially acquired ability to recognise what may be promising regarding possible future LIS career paths. This is in contrast to students from low socio‐cultural backgrounds, who seem not to have access to the high cultural resources the LIS field requires for “decoding” and understanding its hidden possibilities.

Originality/value

This paper uses socio‐cultural explanations of students' choice of LIS as a field of study, contributing methodologically and substantively to this area of research.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 62 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2018

Thomas Foscht, Yuting Lin and Andreas B. Eisingerich

This paper aims to explore how and when a business’ transparency leads to greater willingness to engage in sustainable and responsible consumption by consumers.

2563

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how and when a business’ transparency leads to greater willingness to engage in sustainable and responsible consumption by consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected in two studies. Study 1 collected data from 219 consumers in a large shopping mall. Study 2 followed an experimental approach and used data from 327 participants.

Findings

The current research contributes to theory by hypothesizing and demonstrating when transparency is associated with higher willingness for sustainable and responsible consumption. Critically, the positive benefits of transparency vary according to a business’ future orientation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and levels of customer involvement.

Practical implications

An important societal and practical implication of the current research is that business should not be expected to only focus on transparency in isolation but rather also needs to consider levels of perceived future orientation, CSR and levels of customer involvement to strengthen sustainable and responsible behavior effectively.

Originality/value

This research builds on and extends current knowledge by exploring the key role of business’ transparency in influencing sustainable and responsible customer behavior and examines critical boundary conditions for the observed effects.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 52 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 September 2018

Angela Gracia B. Cruz, Elizabeth Snuggs and Yelena Tsarenko

While theories of complex service systems have advanced important insights about integrated care, less attention has been paid to social dynamics in systems with finite resources…

Abstract

Purpose

While theories of complex service systems have advanced important insights about integrated care, less attention has been paid to social dynamics in systems with finite resources. This paper aims to uncover a paradoxical social dynamic undermining the objective of integrated care within an HIV care service system.

Design/methodology/approach

Grounded in a hermeneutic analysis of depth interviews with 26 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and drawing on Bourdieu’s (1984) theory of capital consumption to unpack dynamics of power, struggle and contestation, the authors introduce the concept of the service labyrinth.

Findings

To competently navigate the service labyrinth of HIV care, consumers adopt capital consumption practices. Paradoxically, these practices enhance empowerment at the individual level but contribute to the fragmentation of the HIV care labyrinth at the system level, ultimately undermining integrated care.

Research limitations/implications

This study enhances understanding of integrated care in three ways. First, the metaphor of the service labyrinth can be used to better understand complex care-related service systems. Second, as consumers of care enact capital consumption practices, the authors demonstrate how they do not merely experience but actively shape the care system. Third, fragmentation is expectedly part of the human dynamics in complex service systems. Thus, the authors discuss its implications. Further research should investigate whether a similar paradox undermines integrated care in better resourced systems, acute care systems and systems embedded in other cultural contexts.

Originality/value

Contrasted to provider-centric views of service systems, this study explicates a customer-centric view from the perspective of heterosexual PLWHA.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 52 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Angela Gracia B. Cruz and Margo Buchanan-Oliver

The purpose of this paper is to explore the capital-based benefits which arise when acculturating immigrants perform touristic practices, and how these shape their tourism and…

1164

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the capital-based benefits which arise when acculturating immigrants perform touristic practices, and how these shape their tourism and migration experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

Grounded in consumer culture theory, this paper draws on theories of capital consumption to inform a hermeneutic analysis of multi-modal depth interviews with Southeast Asian skilled migrants in New Zealand.

Findings

Domestic touristic practices offer three types of capital-based benefits, enabling consumers to index economic capital, accrue social capital and index cultural capital. Additionally, the quest for capital emphasises iconic forms of tourism and supersedes concerns about commodification.

Research limitations/implications

This paper demonstrates the important role of touristic practices not only in short-term mobility, but also for long-term migrants. Further research should investigate how capital shapes the touristic practices of other types of mobile consumers.

Practical implications

Understanding the capital-based benefits of touristic practices in acculturation informs the design of migrant settlement policy and the managerial staging of touristic experiences.

Originality/value

While theorists of liquid modernity have largely treated tourism as a discrete type of mobility, this paper reframes tourism as a key acculturation practice. In contrast to dominant conceptualisations of tourism as a quest for cultural authenticity, this paper reconceptualises tourism as a quest for capital. Finally, while previous studies have focused on how capital constrains acculturation outcomes, this paper explores how a consumption practice enables the expression and accumulation of capital.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 October 2009

Jonathan Murphy

The purpose of this paper is to argue for more widespread and consistent engagement of critical management scholars in influencing policy debates on globalisation, social and…

2121

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to argue for more widespread and consistent engagement of critical management scholars in influencing policy debates on globalisation, social and economic justice, and the proper role of international business.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the reasons that critical management studies (CMS) scholars have been relatively absent from the policy debate surrounding the global economic crisis beginning in 2007. It begins by reviewing the opportunities for policy engagement provided by the crisis, and outlining some of the notable contributions to the debate that have been made by critical management scholars. The paper lists and discusses six factors that need to be addressed if CMS is to have a bigger practical policy impact in the future.

Findings

The paper asserts that the critical management scholarly community could have been more effective in the contemporary global economic crisis. Some common policy objectives need to be settled upon, including a global focus on egalitarianism. There is a need to move beyond the exhausted epistemological debate between Marxism and post‐structuralism, and to pay more attention to practical policy impact. CMS scholars should resist academic narrow‐casting, keep a focus on meta‐narratives, and treat each other more collegially.

Originality/value

The paper encourages discussion within the critical management scholarly community on the need for engagement in practical policy debate and advocacy.

Details

Critical perspectives on international business, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 June 2012

Helen Colley

This paper seeks to discuss the impact of UK government austerity policies on learning in public service work, specifically youth support work. It also aims to argue that…

2237

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to discuss the impact of UK government austerity policies on learning in public service work, specifically youth support work. It also aims to argue that austerity policies intensify “ethics work”, create emotional suffering, and obstruct workplace learning in a variety of ways.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts narrative methods and a critical interpretive paradigm to investigate practitioner perceptions within a broader analysis of neo‐liberal change. It draws on Bourdieu's sociology as an interpretive framework.

Findings

Austerity is shifting the “stakes” of the youth support field from a client‐centred ethos to the meeting of economically driven targets. This shatters the illusio of practitioners committed to client‐centred ethics, resulting in emotional suffering, difficulty in learning to cope with new demands, and an erosion of professional capacity.

Research limitations and implications

A particular limitation is the lack of longitudinal data. There is a pressing need for more research on ethics work, emotional suffering and (not) learning in public service workplaces facing austerity, and to continue theorising this nexus more thoroughly.

Practical and social implications

There is a need to promote a feminist ethics of care in such workplaces. There is also a need to stimulate public debate about the ethical impact of austerity on public service work as a whole. These might allow workplaces to encourage learning more effectively.

Originality/value

This paper departs from traditional discussions of workplace learning to consider instances of “not learning”. It introduces the innovative concept of “ethics work”, discusses ethics as a form of work, through a sociological rather than philosophical lens, and utilises Bourdieu's key concept of illusio, not previously addressed in workplace learning research.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1989

G.M. Huussen

The Austrian school developed a specific kind of economic analysis.Mises′ place in this school of thought and his praxeological point ofview is discussed. His philosophical stance…

Abstract

The Austrian school developed a specific kind of economic analysis. Mises′ place in this school of thought and his praxeological point of view is discussed. His philosophical stance and its methodological implications are then considered.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

1 – 10 of 129