Book reviews

Abstract

This article examines the cultural field of fitness as a network of producers, consumers, products and practices that has developed around the care of the body through physical exercise. Drawing on a thematic text analysis of US exercise manuals, the paper focuses on how the commercial fitness field naturalizes associations between physical exercise and leisure, and between leisure and self‐work. In particular, the analysis examines three themes and their relevance to our broader understanding of leisure in contemporary consumer society: the management of leisure time; the use of leisure for self‐investment strategies; and the promotion of consumption as the framework for leisure and an accompanying notion of pleasure. The fitness field casts light on how leisure more generally is constructed as a sphere of obligations to make productive use of one’s time, to improve one’s body and self, and to do so through the wares of the consumer marketplace. The cultural imaginary of leisure as a time of freedom from work and responsibility is thus recast, in an age of individualization, as a time of freedom to accomplish the work of self‐production.     

Leveraging a call-put ratio as a trading signal

We examine whether a put-call ratio, derived from a unique set of market data, can be used to predict directional moves in asset prices during various market conditions between March 2005 and December 2012. Our findings show: (1) specific market participant's options trading volume is a predecessor to asset price movements, and (2) portfolios based on the put-call ratio adjusted for four factors Carhart model and transaction costs exhibit abnormal excess returns.     

Trust and economic relationships in selected European agrifood chains

The role of trust in eight selected agrifood chains in four EU countries is explored. The empirical analysis is based on a qualitative assessment of 28 expert interviews conducted in summer/autumn 2005. In particular, the connection between perceived trust levels and the prevailing type of vertical economic relationships are explored from the perspectives of farmers, processors and retailers. The findings suggest that trust is more pronounced among SMEs, which are characterized by the existence of personal relationships between business partners. However, as is clear for pork breeders, if a source of distrust exists, trust may not fully develop. Also, if the general economic situation is difficult, the development of trust may be hampered, because all chain participants are struggling to command a share of a diminishing margin within the chain. Finally, if economic power is distributed unevenly, as is the case in Germany, Ireland, Spain and the UK where retailers dominate most chains, trust of the more powerful may be limited.     

Quick-service expenditure in Ireland: parametric vs. semiparametric analysis

The aim of this study is to identify the economic and socio-economic factors influencing Irish households' expenditure on quick-service meals, a particularly dynamic component of the foodservice industry, and to determine the extent to which these factors have changed over the course of the 1990s. Maximum likelihood estimation and semiparametric alternatives are considered with the conclusion that in this instance semiparametric techniques do not offer a viable alternative to maximum likelihood estimation of tobit models, even in the presence of heteroscedasticity and non-normality. The results revel that household income, place of residence, commuters and household size have significant and positive influences on quick-service expenditure. Older families, single households and married couples, together with homeowners, display reduced expenditure. The opportunity cost of time is positively related to quick-service expenditure, consistent with theory, while health knowledge has a negative impact on quick-service consumption.     

Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework

This article proposes the lens of moral economy as a useful ethical framework through which to assess HRM practice, with a particular focus on the strategic use of contingent work (??non-standard?? employment practices including temporary, agency and outsourced work). While contingent work practices have a variety of impetuses we focus here on their strategic use in the pursuit of economic and flexibility goals. A review of the contingent work literature conveys mixed messages about its outcomes for individuals, and more opaquely, for organisations: on the one hand transferring risks yet on the other, creating opportunities. A moral economy lens views employment as a relationship rooted in a web of social dependencies, and considers that ??thick?? relations produce valuable ethical surpluses that represent mutuality and human flourishing. Applying such an approach to the analysis of contingent work enables a fresh interpretation of contradictory individual and collective outcomes observed in the research literature. We suggest that evaluations informed by moral economy offer a more holistic appraisal of HRM practices such as contingent work, where both economic and social opportunities and costs can be more fully seen. In this way we not only highlight the ethical inadequacies of neglecting the human in HRM but also the conceptual pitfalls of analytically separating the economic from the social.     

Tensions and variations in call centre management strategies

Management strategies in call centres face a series of tensions stemming from conflicts between achieving efficiency and providing a quality service to the customer. Recent research suggests high commitment management (HCM) techniques are being applied in call centres in a paradoxical strategy of ‘low discretion, high commitment’(LDHC). This article presents case findings on four British call centres that confirm the LDHC model but suggest that it operates in a variety of forms. By characterising the research sites according to the combined dimensions of HCM orientation and job design implementation, a typology of LDHC approaches is proposed. These are containment, alleviation, structured employee development and involvement. In essence, the LDHC model is an attempt to reconcile the costs of control with the levers of commitment. However, an examination of the realities of LDHC in action reveals a varied but persistent pull towards control. Fundamentally this exposes LDHC as a substitute for, rather than a reflection of, commitment.     

The real estate code of ethics: Viable or vaporous?

Several recent articles in the field of ethics and business have raised questions concerning the viability of professional ethical codes. Are such codes serious, effective tools for promoting and enforcing an ethical standard of behavior? Or do the codes more closely resemble clever, elaborate public-relation ploys? The purpose of this paper is to analyze the content, role and efficacy of one such ethical code, namely, The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Realtors. The paper examines the ethical principles embodied, implicitly or explicitly, in this Code; it tests these principles for coherence, comprehensiveness, clarity and enforce-ability. Furthermore, it seeks to determine whether this Code articulates standards of ethical conduct that are higher than those already required by law and whether the Code successfully translates a general ethical vision down to concrete, everyday real estate practice.