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Studies of the social construction of markets have not determined which social environments, which we refer to as proximate social space, are most likely to trigger social construction processes. We find that U.S. nonprofit fiscal sponsors respond to greater potential for category emergence when proximate social space is defined by geography but not by market segment. Further, in addition to responding to potential claimants based on geographic peers, organizations also respond to actual claimants based on peers in the market segment. The pattern suggests that geographic social proximity triggers initial label claiming, which in turn triggers responses from market segment peers.

In social theory, emergence is the process of novelty (1) creation, (2) growth, and (3) formation into a recognizable social object, process, or structure. Emergence is recognized as important for the existence of novel features of society such as new organizations, new practices, or new relations between actors. In this introduction to the volume on emergence, we introduce a framework for examining emergence processes and theories that have been applied or can be applied to each of the three stages. We also review each volume chapter and discuss their relation to each other. Finally, we make suggestions on the future of research on social emergence processes.

Incorporating local space, matter, and society into our concepts of the global in analytically compatible ways poses a major challenge for contemporary scholars of both world systems and globalization. Many analysts ignore both materiality and locality of production. They assume the global as their point of departure, and attempt to incorporate the local into it. In this chapter, we aim to reverse that logic. We will take into account and theorize the interaction of natural and social processes. In other words, we will integrate ecologic or materio-spatial logic with sociologic within the economic logic of global markets.

We propose an elaboration of the social structure and personality framework from sociological social psychology that is intended to promote integration across social psychological traditions and between social psychology and sociology, using the study of inequality as an example.

We develop a conceptualization of “generic” proximate processes that produce and reproduce inequality in face-to-face interaction: status, identity, and justice.

The elaborated framework suggests fundamental questions that analysts can pose about the macro-micro dynamics of inequality. These questions direct attention to the “how” and “why” of macro-micro relations by connecting structural and cultural systems, local contexts, and the lives of individual persons; highlighting implicit processes; making meaning central; and directing our attention to how people act efficaciously in the face of constraint.

Applying this framework, scholars can use existing theories and generate new ones, and can do so inductively or deductively.

Research on inequality is enriched by social psychological analyses that draw on the full complement of relevant methods and theories.

We make visible the social psychological underpinnings of sociological research on inequality and provide a template for macro-micro analyses that emphasizes the centrality of social psychological processes.

This study examined public knowledge and compliance with infectious disease preventive measures using COVID-19 as a case study. Exploratory research design was employed to collect primary qualitative data from 23 market-involved individuals through the use of in-depth interviews. Responses from the interviewees were audio-recorded, transcribed and categorised into themes before content analysis was used to decrypt fundamental cognitive processes and patterns. Results showed good public knowledge of the infectious disease signs and symptoms, mode of transmission as well as prevention. However, knowledge of how and why some of these preventive measures should be engaged was inadequate or lacking. Findings further showed knowledge-praxis gaps as expressed in the non-observance of face mask directives, disregarding social distancing requirements, and non-compliance to handwashing obligations. Lastly, results showed that observed preventive inactions were reportedly rooted in scarcity of proximate infectious disease cases, public distrust in government, leadership exemplar deficit, individual's poor responsibility mentality, and difficulties in adapting to preventive and control guidelines. Knowledge of this study is most beneficial to market-involved individuals affected by infectious disease policies. This empirical study has helped to unveil the need to bridge knowledge-praxis gap in order to curtail the spread of any infectious disease especially in market areas. The study concluded that unless health communication of infectious disease is adequately and properly disseminated, knowledge-praxis gaps remains inevitable. The need for detailed dissemination of health information, cum intervention strategies that bridge the observed knowledge-compliance gaps is highly imperative in a progressive and dynamic society.

In high-end interactive service work settings, asymmetries between workers and customers are typically reflected in the service interaction. Workers must carefully control their emotional and aesthetic displays towards customers by relying on protocol provided by management. Customers, in turn, need not reciprocate such acts. By contrast, this paper theorizes service interactions that, paradoxically, aim to narrow the social distance between those on either side of the counter. Drawing on ethnographic data from a higher-end Los Angeles restaurant, I introduce the concept of proximal service as performed relationships in which server and served engage in peer-like interactions in a commercial setting. I show how management structures this drama through hiring, training, and shopfloor policies, all of which encourage select workers to approach customers using informal, flexible, and peer-like performances. I close by discussing how a branded experience of service amongst equals relates to symbolic exclusion and social inequality, and suggest that proximal service may be on the rise within upscale, urban service establishments seeking to offer a more “authentic” consumption experience.

Previous research has shown that gentrification has mixed effects on residents of the community. This paper focuses on the differential implications of gentrification for youth in the gentrifying area and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Interviews were conducted among youth aged 11–16 and their parents in Asbury Park, a shore community in New Jersey that is currently experiencing tourism-related redevelopment.

Respondents describe various ways that gentrification creates visible disparities between neighborhoods. Uneven spatial investment leads youth and their parents to perceive their immediate, disinvested residential surroundings as more dangerous and violent than invested spaces near the ocean. Displacement causes neighborhood social networks of remaining residents to dissolve and erodes the social fabric of the community. Moreover, the prohibitive cost of new amenities limits residents’ access to new leisure opportunities nearby.

Future studies could compare similarly sized communities experiencing gentrification specific to tourism, as well as communities experiencing different types of redevelopment. Future studies should also seek to include a more representative sample of Latino residents.

This study contributes to our understanding of how children and youth experience gentrification. These findings should be of interest to policymakers, developers, and those working directly with youth, including teachers and social workers.

These findings point to how youth experience gentrification differently according to their proximity or distance from invested areas. This should influence measures to improve service provision and access.

This paper contributes to the existing literature on experiences of individuals living in gentrifying spaces by focusing on children whose families remain in the community.