Eva Cerio, Alain Debenedetti and Rieunier Sophie
Peer-to-peer (P2P) secondhand resale platforms (SRP) are competitive places where different value systems beyond market values interact. This study aims to investigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Peer-to-peer (P2P) secondhand resale platforms (SRP) are competitive places where different value systems beyond market values interact. This study aims to investigate the conflicts that may arise in interactions between users on SRP and the extent to which these conflicts are (ir)resolved, by drawing on economies of worth theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The study takes a qualitative and interpretative approach to examine 22 active users on P2P resales platforms such as Vinted, including in-depth interviews. Following the Straussian view of grounded theory, the study uses constant comparison (open, axial and selective coding) to analyze data on SRP users’ experiences.
Findings
Drawing on the economies of worth theory, the study shows that SRP users rely on four different value systems or “worlds” when using the platforms (market, domestic, green and civic worlds) that come into conflict, at either an interactional (three conflicts identified) or an individual (two conflicts identified) level. The findings reveal that these conflicts are temporarily resolved at the interactional level and in a sustainable way at the individual level.
Originality/value
This study sheds further light on the relationship between consumers on SRP by offering a more nuanced perspective on these exchanges than market-oriented exchanges. It also analyzes the data through the economies of worth theory, which is an appropriate lens to better understand social interactions and conventions. Finally, the study offers recommendations on how managers can improve buyers’ and sellers’ experiences on these platforms and, thus, foster their satisfaction.
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The purpose of this study is to interrogate the meaning and the prospect of consuming sports as Korean popular media entertainment contents from the sociological perspective. Now…
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to interrogate the meaning and the prospect of consuming sports as Korean popular media entertainment contents from the sociological perspective. Now, the Korean media are flooded with variety TV shows using sports as their contents. Not only terrestrial broadcasts but also over-the-top (OTT) such as Netflix and Disney Plus telecast a total of 36 sports entertainment programs using various sports including golf, football, fitness, and so on as the contents. In particular, it is interesting that sports-contented variety shows which combine nonsport persons with sports as the contents attract wide popularity. Moreover, it can be observed that athletes, who had made their names in their own sports when they were active ones and honorably retired, appeared as entertainers in sport-contented variety shows and enjoyed their second life as entertainers, not athletes. As such, various kinds of sports have continuously attracted popularity as core contents for variety shows in the Korean media market. On the basis of the background, this study attempts to seek out the answers to the following questions. First, what are the highlight and challenges of the popularity of entertainment programs using sports as their contents in the Korean society? Second, can it be possible to continuously consume sports as popular contents for the Korean media industry? Finally, how can the consumption of sports as the media entertainment contents influence on the topography of the discourse (males- and popular sport-centered) dominating the sports culture in the Korean society?
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Emmanuelle Avril, Laurence Cossu-Beaumont, David Fée and Fabrice Mourlon
This introductory chapter presents the book’s rationale and structure and reflects on the notion of ‘fragmented powers’ as a key entry into understanding evolving power dynamics…
Abstract
This introductory chapter presents the book’s rationale and structure and reflects on the notion of ‘fragmented powers’ as a key entry into understanding evolving power dynamics in the English-speaking world. Combining historical and contemporary perspectives, from the late 18th century to the contemporary era, fragmentation as a non-linear process reveals the tensions between centralisation and decentralisation, as well as confrontation and cooperation in the fields of constitutional and institutional issues, politics and political party systems, the media, and in urban and social policies at both the intra-national and transnational levels. The adoption of a long view perspective and a multidisciplinary approach allows to critically assess the concept of fragmentation by questioning both its positive and negative effects on the cultural, political and socio-economic environments.
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Fanny Reniou, Elisa Robert-Monnot and Sarah Lasri
Packaging-free shopping disrupts the usual retailing and consumption patterns in which packaging usually plays a central role. When manufacturers no longer offer predetermined…
Abstract
Purpose
Packaging-free shopping disrupts the usual retailing and consumption patterns in which packaging usually plays a central role. When manufacturers no longer offer predetermined packaging, how do retailers and consumers ensure packaging functions? Investigating the way packaging-free actors appropriate packaging functions during use is particularly important because they exert a new power over these functions, which can be challenging to appropriate. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of why packaging-free shopping can be perceived as constraining.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from the literature on packaging functions and adopting Miller’s conceptual framework of appropriation, this research uses a qualitative method with a variety of discursive and visual data, including 54 interviews with experts from packaging-free product stores and consumers, 190 Instagram consumer posts and 428 in-store and at-home photographs.
Findings
This research shows that packaging-free actors jointly appropriate packaging functions through two modes of appropriation (assimilation and accommodation) each encompassing distinct strategies and highlights the misappropriation that actors can experience, especially when prioritizing one function over another.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on packaging-free shopping, an emergent and growing trend that challenges conventional shopping models. The research reveals dark sides of packaging-free shopping – namely, the damaging effects on health and the environment and social exclusion. In particular, it discusses the ambivalence of the packaging-free shopping environmental function. This research also deepens insight into how individual acts of appropriation may lead to misappropriation.
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Scholars such as Hebblethwaite (2012) argue that societal elements like the pressure for students to learn French in Haiti are deeply rooted in colonial traditions which were…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars such as Hebblethwaite (2012) argue that societal elements like the pressure for students to learn French in Haiti are deeply rooted in colonial traditions which were originally intended to hinder long-term development and continue to do so within the country. The purpose of this paper is to widen the scope of Hebblethwaite’s discussion on language and question other social norms within educational institutions, which are having a negative impact on educational attainment. This purpose is accomplished by way of an empirical study of primary school education reform efforts in Haiti through a lens of de-coloniality as defined by Walter Mignolo (2005).
Design/methodology/approach
Given that this is an empirical study on education reform in Haiti, I have conducted this study solely through the analysis of literature and evidence from past work on education reform in Haiti and other countries with similar challenges. The body of the research is separated into two parts, and the first is a critical historical analysis of the context. The second is a comparative analysis of two different case studies on education reform projects that have occurred in Haiti. This will also be followed by a conclusive analysis of similar efforts in communities around the world.
Findings
This study demonstrates that primary school students, teachers and their communities in Haiti respond better to education development projects that place mother-tongue learning, grassroots community participation and culturally relevant pedagogy at the forefront of daily operational planning. These factors would play a key role in setting the foundation for students to be both productive Haitian citizens first and global citizens second. The literature reviewed also demonstrates that historically, education has focused far too heavily on models that work for or originate from the global north and not enough on building an education system tailored to Haiti.
Research limitations/implications
Since barriers such as societal norms need to be addressed through organic grassroots movements, which take time to be effective, reform from this perspective is better suited for the longer term than the shorter term. In the conclusion, this is considered to be a limitation when it comes to identifying short-term solutions to education, especially given that grassroots projects such as Buiga-Sunrise take time to establish winning practices that support self-sufficiency.
Originality/value
Literacy rates in Haiti for the year 2012 were around 48% for adults and 72% for youth (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012). Not to mention that only 50% of children attend primary schools and 20% attend secondary schools (UNICEF Haiti, 2011, as cited in Jean-Marie and Sider, 2014). Such low educational attainment shows a need for greater access to education, and as much as the privatisation of schools is a significant barrier, as argued by Sider and Jean Marie, there are other impactful factors that remain to be addressed.
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Thomas Pittz, Terry Adler and Carma Claw
This paper aims to offer fresh insight into new institutional theory in the context of Native American tribal sovereignty. This paper outlines the history of tribal sovereignty to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer fresh insight into new institutional theory in the context of Native American tribal sovereignty. This paper outlines the history of tribal sovereignty to propose it as an 8th institution, express how it is differentially applied in Native Nations and discuss how conflicts between institutional logics have an impact on economic and cultural outcomes. While doing so, this paper provides a review of tribal sovereignty to contextualize how the institution has developed over time, how it is exercised today and how the complexity of economic logics continues to affect its attainment. The power of the institutional logics that undergird tribal sovereignty has shifted over time, and this paper highlights the ontological and practical consequences of this shift on the institution of tribal sovereignty itself.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviewed the literary history of Native American tribal sovereignty using the lens of institutional theory to uncover dynamics that have been previously overlooked. This study stems from this review and extends the understanding of neo-institutional theory by offering a fresh contextual perspective from the lens of tribal sovereignty. The inclusion of a historical perspective, as well as modern expressions of tribal sovereignty, enables the narrative to suggest that tribal sovereignty is better understood as an institution. This paper is also able to highlight how some of the tension within conceptualizations of tribal sovereignty relies, in part, upon the institutional logic of Hózhó, and why these tensions persist even today within the exercise of sovereignty. This study is akin to what Arseneault, Deal and Helms Mills (2021) call a “review with attitude” that provides an alternative view of Native American tribal sovereignty and its relationship with new institutional theory to suggest a new research agenda for organizational studies.
Findings
This paper demonstrates the challenges that tribal leaders face and enumerates the various strategies used by Native American nations to exercise sovereignty from the US Federal Government. It shows the conflicts between economic and cultural outcomes and the ways in which tribes struggle to balance these conflicts both from within the tribe and without. While all organizations face various forms of environmental pressures, tribal nations in the USA exercise sovereignty to achieve a balance that is unlike other, paradigmatically capitalistic and Western, institutional forms.
Originality/value
At a time when marginalization and inclusiveness have become more prominent themes in management discourse, this paper expands upon the background of tribal sovereignty in the USA to highlight these concepts. Much has been written about the legal and social aspects of Native American culture and integration, or lack thereof, within Western culture. What has been missing, however, is the way in which tribal nations rely on sovereignty as a social structure beyond the mere legal and formal aspects of being recognized as a “nation within a nation.” One of the contributions of this study is to link the concepts of tribal sovereignty and the study of institutional theory, providing a rich framework for distancing ourselves from traditional logocentric Westernized approaches to a more inclusive understanding of alternative social structures.
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Kyung Wook Seo and Dong Yoon Kim
Analysis of architectural space is commonly conducted by examining architectural drawings that project spatial information by means of walls and partitions. To capture the lived…
Abstract
Purpose
Analysis of architectural space is commonly conducted by examining architectural drawings that project spatial information by means of walls and partitions. To capture the lived experience of space, which is richer than what we can see from drawings, a new method is proposed to quantify the cognitive dimension of space and re-present it as an audible format.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an urban vernacular house in Seoul as a case study, this research takes a syntactic approach to quantify one's changing perception through their movement from the main gate to the most private reception room. Based on Luigi Moretti's theory of hollow space, a new method is proposed to measure the level of spatial pressure exerted on a navigating body. The numerical data of spatial pressure are then converted to a sound using musical techniques of the chromatic scale and chorale textures.
Findings
Building on Moretti's abstract concept, it has been shown that a rule-based quantification of users' spatial perception is possible. In addition, unlike conventional approaches of treating architecture as a static entity, this study showed an alternative approach to represent it as a sequence of sensorial experience that can be readily converted to a sound of music.
Originality/value
This research developed a quantification method to measure the perception of pressure inside buildings by revisiting Luigi Moretti's theory proposed in 1952. It has been also demonstrated that the visual stimuli in space can be translated into an audible experience. This new method is applicable to a wide range of buildings including important historic architecture.
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Patricia Crifo and Antoine Rebérioux
This paper examines the relationship between employee involvement in decision-making (in particular codetermination) and corporate social responsibility, i.e. extra-financial or…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the relationship between employee involvement in decision-making (in particular codetermination) and corporate social responsibility, i.e. extra-financial or environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review was done based on the following methodology: synthesis of existing knowledge, bringing together and summarising published work on the relationship between codetermination and CSR; identification of potential gaps in the literature, highlighting what has been little studied in the field; assessment of the quality, relevance and limitations of existing studies and following citation standards to acknowledge the work of other researchers.
Findings
Codetermination has a rather positive impact on extra-financial performance. The special status of employee directors, who combine independence (from management) with knowledge of the company and its sector, may generate better strategic choices and enhanced oversight of management action, with positive consequences for ESG performance overall. Regarding, more specifically, governance, although codetermination inevitably upsets the internal balances of corporate boards, it does not seem to pose a major risk to their operation. The possibility of blocking decisions remains theoretical, and codetermination does not necessarily lead to oversized boards. On the social side, codetermination would have a positive impact on wage and employment management. Finally, regarding the environment, no strong consensus has emerged so far on whether codetermination improves or deteriorates corporate environmental performance.
Originality/value
The originality of our approach is to propose a review of the literature on the determinants and impact of employee participation in light of concerns and reflections on the nature and responsibility of firms, particularly about the ecological and environmental crisis that contributed to shifting the challenges to less operational and more strategic considerations. We thus question how the participation of employees in the decision-making process tends to delineate a democracy that is no longer merely liberal but also “social”. We examine, conceptually and empirically, the various forms that the participation of employees may take and their impact on firm performance.
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Cinzia Calluso and Maria Giovanna Devetag
Despite the increasing heterogeneity of the organizational workforce – as a consequence of major worldwide socioeconomic trends – a considerable number of studies shows how…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the increasing heterogeneity of the organizational workforce – as a consequence of major worldwide socioeconomic trends – a considerable number of studies shows how traditionally underrepresented groups still face significant barriers in entering the labor market. Literature has highlighted several grounds for discrimination: ethnicity, age, gender, religion, social status, sexual orientation, etc., and while some of these are extensively investigated (e.g. ethnicity), other fields are still gaining evidence (e.g. social status).
Design/methodology/approach
In the current paper, we aim at providing a review of current experimental studies aimed at detecting discrimination in hiring and the possible interventions to reduce bias. Then, we offer a point of reflection for policymaking, analyzing whether such issue should be addressed at the level of the individual (i-frame) or rather at a more systemic level (s-frame).
Findings
The paper provides substantial evidence that discrimination in hiring still exists, despite the never greater pressure for firms’ social sustainability. Further, existing interventions appear to have an overall limited impact in reducing bias. Hence, we suggest that the issue of discrimination in hiring should be tackled at a systemic level, by means of s-frame interventions.
Originality/value
The paper offers a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon by systematizing the existing body of knowledge deriving from empirical research and offering a broad perspective onto policy implications.