Conceptual underpinnings for transformative research in a service ecosystems context to resolve social issues – framework foundations and extensions

ABSTRACT

A number of services within society are designed to improve the well-being of its members and transform lives. Some services focus on the protection and support of vulnerable members of society, for example, those suffering the effects of drug use, mental health conditions, violence or poverty. Clients of such social services may also come from minority or marginalised cultural backgrounds. Typically, social services aim to reduce disparities and enhance individual and population well-being. A major challenge for social policy-makers and social service providers is to establish and maintain constructive engagement between the social services and those they are intended to serve. Some of these vulnerable clients are deemed ‘hard-to-reach’ (HTR) by policy-makers and service providers. Yet, the transformation of lives requires the involvement of the focal actor (client) and their service or activity system, as well as the engagement of other actors, such as the social worker embedded in their service or activity system. This paper aims to further unpack a novel approach, called integrative transformative service framework. This contribution extends its conceptualisation which fuses mainly three different approaches, namely Transformative Service Research (TSR), (Cultural-Historical) Activity Theory (CHAT) and (Regulatory) Engagement Theory (RET).     

Toward a Fine Balance: Cross-Cultural Comparison of Work–Family Identities

This study investigates the differences in the salience of work and family identities between samples of employees in the United States and India. The authors hypothesized the effects of cultural differences on these workers' salient identities. Additionally, the authors hypothesized that across cultures a balance in the importance of family and work identities achieved by an individual would lead to greater job and life satisfaction and fewer intentions to turnover. Structural equation modeling tests support the authors' hypotheses. This article contributes toward an understanding of cross-cultural differences and even some similarities in work–family identity issues and the outcomes a balance in them engender.     

Theoretical Perspectives on Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure: Evidence From China

Using a data set of top 56 corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) disclosing firms with 112 observations on the H-share and Red-chip lists of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, results suggest that charitable donations, firm size, and the Songhua River incident response are positively related to the CSER disclosure, whereas debt–equity ratio, profit margin, and firm age revealed counterdirectional relationships. Other variables including media attention and market risk were found to have no impact. Findings imply that the Chinese government and its agencies need to prescribe CSER guidelines and make them mandatory for listed firms.     

Persistence of small-scale,family farms in India: A note

Abstract

The paper analyses the proliferation of small scale family farms in India. It contends that widespread involuntary unemployment in the rural economy is the chief reason for this phenomenon. The problem can be considered as that of coordination failure. The paper attempts to show that such a problem can be overcome through planned, investment promotion by the state, which by reducing unemployment induces the entry of capitalist farmers.     

Resolving the paradox of social standards and export competitiveness

Over the last decade there has been increasing international pressure on countries to raise ‘social standards’ (i.e. production standards based on environmental and labor conditions). Currently, the World Trade Organization does not allow countries to impose minimum standards on imports based on environmental or labor standards because it is assumed to undermine competition. There is no consensus in the empirical literature, however, to support this claim. In fact, the evidence suggests that while stronger environmental standards hurt competitiveness, stronger labor standards do the opposite. This paper offers one possible explanation for this paradox. In a simple model of incomplete information, externally imposed standards may either increase or decrease the competitiveness of infant firms from developing countries depending on the degree of complementarity between the standard and the production of high-quality goods.     

An explanation of share tenancy in terms of unemployment,social norms and power

Due to persistent unemployment, peasant families in developing countries tend to employ more labour on the leased in land plots than a capitalist would. In labour surplus societies, therefore, landlords may earn higher surplus from leasing out land than from self-cultivation. By endogenising disguised unemployment this paper shows that greater power and unity of landlords and conservative social norms may explain the persistence of share tenancy in developing economies.     

Retail change: effects on employees' job demands and home life

Causes and effects of occupational stress have received research attention for several decades, with increasing focus during the 1990s as organizations and individual workers attempt to adapt to economic change. Stress arising from either the work or home domain can have a variety of outcomes in the workplace, and similarly can impact in many ways on relationships and activities at home. This paper reports the first phase of a research study to identify the impact on work and home life of changes in retailing, a sector of the economy which has experienced significant change over the past few years. A qualitative methodology was adopted, using group discussions to allow staff to identify the specific changes in retailing most important for themselves, and then to explore how these changes related to satisfactions and dissatisfactions at work, and their impact on general aspects of home life. The results suggest that the 'spillover' relationship between work and home stress seems to be the most useful in describing the impact of change. This suggests that additional role demands at work brought about by change have an impact on relationships and social life outside work. However, some individuals described instances of 'compensation' between work and home, and independence between the two domains. This suggests that the issue of stress in the home/work interface is complex, and that the demands in each domain may be positively or negatively related depending on characteristics of the demands themselves, or may vary according to individual characteristics of the people in the study.     

Information,persuasion, and control in moral appraisal of advertising strategy

The formulation of moral issues surrounding consumer advertising tends to focus on the capacity to persuade or inform, and how these capabilities may be used to distort or fulfill needs and desires. Discussion of these issues abstracts from widespread advertising and marketing practices, by assuming that all advertising is mass advertising, broadcast indiscriminately over the entire market population. This assumption directs attention away from important issues stemming from actual advertising strategies, which involve campaigns designed for and conveyed to particular customer groups or segments within broader product market. Several cases are outlined to illustrate the class of practices considered to be important and usually ignored, and issues that they raise for moral appraisal are suggested.Taylor R. Durham is Assistant Professor of Communications (Visiting) at Hampshire College, School of Communications and Cognitive Science where he is concerned with information, decision-making, and regulation of advertising. He was previously Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Social Relations, The Johns Hopkins University.