Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

“It’s Us, You Know, There’s a Feeling of Community”: Exploring Notions of Community in a Consumer Co-operative

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The notion of community infers unity and a source of moral obligations in an organisational ethic between individuals or groups. As such, a community, having a strong sense of collective identity, may foster collective action to promote social change for the betterment of society. This research critically explores notions of community through analysing discursive identity construction practices within a member-owned urban consumer co-operative (CC) public house in the UK. A strong sense of community is an often-claimed CC characteristic. The paper’s main contributions stem from using the lens of identity work to critically unpack the notion of community through highlighting paradoxical tensions of community residing within CCs. The findings reveal that the notion of community may be illusionary with counter-veiling forces, one that reflects a more traditional sense of connection, attachment and communion, and the other of boundaries, disconnection or division. As these repertoires collide, tensions are evident between the hegemonic discourse of neoliberal managerialism and that of democratic collective ownership. Despite these individual-level tensions, communities may operate within boundaries enabling an organisational and societal ethic, beyond the individual.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For example, see Enspiral (A New Zealand based co-operative) https://www.shareable.net/blog/enspiral-changing-the-way-social-entrepreneurs-do-business.

  2. As part of this anonymity, and in securing access to the co-operative members, the name of the pub is not disclosed.

References

  • Alvesson, M., Ashcraft, K. L., & Thomas, R. (2008). Identity matters: Reflections on the construction of identity scholarship in organization studies. Organization Studies, 15(5), 5–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, D., & Turner, S. (2012). Is the pub still the hub? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 24(4), 542–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atewologun, D., Sealy, R., & Vinnicombe, S. (2016). Revealing intersectional dynamics in organizations: Introducing intersectional identity work. Gender, Work & Organization, 23, 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (1976). Socialism: The active utopia. London: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2001). Community: Seeking safety in an insecure world. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beech, N. (2008). On the nature of dialogic identity work. Organization Studies, 15, 51–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beech, N., Gilmore, C., Cochrane, E., & Greig, G. (2012). Identity work as a response to tensions: A re-narration in opera rehearsals. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 28, 39–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertland, A. (2011). The limits of workplace community: Jean-Luc Nancy and the possibility of teambuilding. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(Supp 1), 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birchall, J., & Simmons, R. (2004). What motivates members to participate in co-operative and mutual businesses? A theoretical model and some findings. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 75(3), 465–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, F., Newenham-Kahindi, A., & Herremans, I. (2011). When suits meet roots: The antecedents and consequences of community engagement strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(2), 297–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brent, J. (2004). The desire for community: Illusion, confusion and paradox. Community Development Journal, 39(3), 213–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. D. (2017). Identity work and organizational identification. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19, 296–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabras, I. (2011). Industrial and provident societies and village pubs: Exploring community cohesion in rural Britain. Environment and Planning A, 43, 2419–2434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calvano, L. (2008). Multinational corporations and local communities: A critical analysis of conflict. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(4), 793–805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, C., Brown, A., & Hope-Hailey, V. (2009). Working identities? Antagonistic discursive resources and managerial identity. Human Relations, 62, 323–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, I., Kell, I., Schmidt, R., & Vignali, C. (1998). Thinking the thoughts they do: Symbolism and meaning in the consumer experience of the “British pub”. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 1(3), 132–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., & Rhodes, C. (2007). Organisational ethics, decision-making and undecidability. Sociological Review, 55, 393–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. P. (1985). The symbolic construction of community. London: Tavistock.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Crane, A., Matten, A., & Moon, J. (2004). Stakeholders as citizens? Rethinking rights, participation, and democracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 53(1/2), 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crane, A., & Ruebottom, T. J. (2011). Stakeholder theory and social identity: Rethinking stakeholder identification. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(Suppl 1), 77–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunha, M. P., Guimaraes-Costa, N., Rego, A., & Clegg, S. R. (2010). Leading and following (un)ethically in limen. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(2), 189–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Cillia, R., Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (1999). The discursive construction of national identities. Discourse & Society, 10(2), 149–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delanty, G. (2003). Community. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dey, P., & Steyaert, C. (2015). Tracing and theorising ethics in entrepreneurship. In A. Pullen & C. Rhodes (Eds.), The Routledge companion to ethics, politics and organizations (pp. 231–248). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunham, L., Freeman, R. E., & Liedtka, J. (2006). Enhancing stakeholder practice: A particularized exploration of community. Business Ethics Quarterly, 16(1), 23–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, C., & Eble, M. (2015). Giving voice to the silenced: Using critical discourse analysis to inform crisis communication theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 132(4), 717–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N., & Ybema, S. (2010). Marketing identities: Shifting circles of identification in inter-organizational relationships. Organization Studies, 31(3), 279–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Essers, C., & Benschop, Y. (2007). Enterprising identities: Female entrepreneurs of Moroccan or Turkish origin in the Netherlands. Organization Studies, 28, 49–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairbairn, B. (2004). Cohesion, adhesion and identities in co-operatives. In B. Fairburn & N. Russell (Eds.), Co-operative membership and globalization: New directions in research and practice. Saskatoon: Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fauchart, E., & Gruber, M. (2011). Darwinians, communitarians, and missionaries: The role of founder identity in entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Journal, 54(5), 935–957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finnis, J. (1980). Natural rights and natural law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses (2nd ed.). London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghadiri, D. P., Gond, J.-P., & Brés, L. (2015). Identity work of corporate social responsibility consultants: Managing discursively the tensions between profit and social responsibility. Discourse & Communication, 9(6), 593–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden-Biddle, K., & Rao, H. (1997). Breaches in the boardroom: Organizational identity and conflicts of commitment in a nonprofit organization. Organization Science, 8, 593–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grassl, W. (2011). Hybrid forms of business: The logic of gift in the commercial world. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(Suppl 1), 109–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez, B., Howard-Grenville, J., & Scully, M. (2010). The faithful rise up: Split identification and an unlikely change effort. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 673–699.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in practice (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hannerz, U. (1990). Cosmopolitans and locals in world culture. Theory, Culture and Society, 7, 237–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ICA (International Co-operative Alliance). (2017). Co-operative identity, values and principles. http://ica.coop/en/what-co-operative. Accessed March 2017.

  • Jacobsen, M. H. (2004). From solid modern utopia to liquid modern anti-utopia? Tracing the utopian strand in the sociology of Zygmunt Bauman. Utopian Studies, 15(1), 63–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain, S., George, G., & Maltarich, M. (2009). Academics or entrepreneurs? Investigating role identity modification of university scientists involved in commercialization activity. Research Policy, 38, 922–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens, M., & Steyaert, C. (2015). Positioning the plural ethos of the cosmopolitanism in global organisations. In A. Pullen & C. Rhodes (Eds.), The Routledge companion to ethics, politics and organizations (pp. 103–118). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jary, D., & Jary, J. (1999). Community. Unwin Hyman dictionary of sociology (pp. 100–101). Glasgow: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jussila, I., Tuominen, P., & Tuominen, T. (2012). Are we owners or regular customers? The obscure meaning of ownership in consumer co-operatives. International Business Research, 5(12), 195–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, K. M. (2010). Beyond ourselves: Passion and the dark side of identification in an ethical organization. Human Relations, 63, 857–873.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knights, D., & Clarke, C. (2017). Pushing the boundaries of amnesia and myopia: A critical review of the literature on identity in management and organization studies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19, 337–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamont, M. (1992). Money, morals and manners: The culture of the French and the American upper-middle-class. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lamont, M., & Molnar, V. (2002). The study of boundaries in the social science. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 167–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamont, M., Schmalzbauer, J., Waller, M., & Weber, D. (1996). Cultural and moral boundaries in the United States: Structural position, geographic location, and lifestyle explanations. Poetics, 24, 3–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D., & Newby, H. (1983). The problem of sociology: An introduction to the discipline. London: Unwin Hyman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichterman, P. (1996). The search for political community: American activists reinventing commitment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mangan, A. (2009). ‘We’re not banks’: Exploring self-discipline, subjectivity and co-operative work. Human Relations, 62(1), 93–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathias, B. D., & Williams, D. W. (2017). The impact of role identities on entrepreneurs’ evaluation and selection of opportunities. Journal of Management, 43(3), 892–918.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzarol, T., Mamouni-Limnios, E., & Reboud, S. (2014). An overview of the research. In T. Mazzarol, S. Reboud, E. Mamouni-Limnios, & D. Clark (Eds.), Research handbook on sustainable co-operative enterprise: Case studies of organisational resilience in the co-operative business model (pp. 3–26). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • McInnes, P., & Corlett, S. (2012). Conversational identity work in everyday interaction. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 28(1), 27–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meira, F. B. (2014). Liminal organization: organizational emergence within solidary economy in Brazil. Organization, 21(5), 713–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melé, D. (2012). The firm as a “Community of Persons”: A pillar of humanistic business ethos. Journal of Business Ethics, 106(1), 89–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirror. (2014). The villagers who bought their beloved local pub to save it from closure, 12 August 2014. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/villagers-who-bought-beloved-local-4042546. Accessed November 2016.

  • Mueller, F., & Whittle, A. (2012). Villains, victims, and the financial crisis: Positioning identities through descriptions. In S. Majken, S. Maguire, A. Langley, & H. Tsoukas (Eds.), Constructing identity in and around organizations (pp. 147–179). Oxford: OUP.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nancy, J.-L. (1991). The inoperative community (P. Connor, L. Garbus, M. Holland, & S. Sawhney (eds.), Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

  • Nussbaum, M. (2010). Patriotism and cosmopolitanism. In G. Brown & D. Held (Eds.), The cosmopolitan reader (pp. 156–162). Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papaoikonomou, E., Valverde, M., & Ryan, G. (2012). Articulating the meanings of collective experiences of ethical consumption. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(1), 15–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, M. (2012). On being green and being enterprising: Narrative and the ecopreneurial self. Organization, 20, 794–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, N., & Hardy, C. (2002). Discourse analysis. Investigating processes of social construction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plunkett Foundation. (2015). Co-operative pubs: A better form of business 2014. www.plunkett.co.uk.

  • Plunkett Foundation. (2017). Co-operative pubs: A better form of business 2017. www.plunkett.co.uk.

  • Potter, J. & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratten, J. D. (2007a). The development of the modern UK public house Part 1: The traditional British public house of the twentieth century. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(4), 335–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratten, J. D. (2007b). The development of the UK public house Part 2: Signs of change to the UK public house 1959–1989. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(6), 513–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratten, J. D. (2007c). The development of the modern UK public house Part 3: The emergence of the modern public house 1989–2005. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(7), 612–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinecke, J., Arnold, D. G., & Palazzo, G. (2016). Qualitative methods in business ethics, corporate responsibility, and sustainability research. Business Ethics Quarterly, 26(4), xiii–xxii.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues, S., & Child, J. (2008). Corporate co-evolution: A political perspective. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sabadoz, C. (2011). Between profit-seeking and prosociality: Corporate social responsibility as Derridean supplement. Journal of Business Ethics, 104(1), 77–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandiford, P. F., & Divers, P. (2014). The English public house as a 21st century socially responsible community institution. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, 88–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, C. (2008). Double-edged swords? Collective identity and solidarity in the environment movement. British Journal of Sociology, 59(2), 227–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siggelhow, N. (2007). Persuasion with case studies. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 20–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. A. (1983). Social usages of the public drinking house: Changing aspects of class and leisure. British Journal of Sociology, 34(3), 367–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. K. (2001). Community, in the encyclopedia of informal education. http://www.infed.org/community/community.htm. Accessed December 2014.

  • Smith, W. K., & Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Somers, M. R. (1994). The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach. Theory and Society, 23(5), 605–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, E. (1998). On the problem of empathy (W. Stein, Trans.). Washington, DC: ICS Publications.

  • Talonen, A., Jussila, I., Saarijärvi, H., & Rintamäki, T. (2016). Consumer cooperatives: Uncovering the value potential of customer ownership. AMS Review, 6, 142–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telegraph. (2013). Evans, I. The villagers who clubbed together to save their pub, 14 January 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/pubs/9800200/The-villagers-who-clubbed-together-to-save-their-pub.html. Accessed November 2016.

  • Tencati, A., & Zsolnai, L. (2009). The collaborative enterprise. Journal of Business Ethics, 85, 367–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracey, P., Phillips, N., & Haugh, H. (2005). Beyond philanthropy: Community enterprise as a basis for corporate citizenship. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(4), 327–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tumbat, G., & Belk, R. W. (2011). Marketplace tensions in extraordinary experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(1), 42–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, V. (1969). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, B. (2004). Co-operation membership, issues and challenges. In B. Fairbairn & N. Russell. (Eds.), Co-operative membership and globalization: New directions in research and practice. Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan

  • Turner, V., & Turner, E. (1978). Image and pilgrimage in Christian culture: Anthropological perspective. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Laer, K., & Janssens, M. (2014). Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Exploring the hybrid identity narratives of ethnic minority professionals. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 30, 186–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, T. (2006). ‘Working on the train gang’: Alienation, liminality and communitas in the UK preserved railway sector. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(3), 218–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. (2008). Managing identity: Identity work, personal predicaments and structural circumstances. Organization, 15, 121–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J. (2009). Narrative, life story and manager identity: A case study in autobiographical identity work. Human Relations, 62(3), 425–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J., & Watson, D. H. (2012). Narratives in society, organizations and individual identities: An ethnographic study of pubs, identity work and the pursuit of ‘the real’. Human Relations, 65(5), 683–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetherell, M., & Edley, N. (2014). A discursive psychological framework for analyzing men and masculinities. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15, 355–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittle, A., & Mueller, F. (2010). The language of interest: The contribution of discursive psychology. Human Relations, 64(3), 415–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willmott, P. (1989). Community initiatives: Patterns and prospects. London: Policy Studies Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, L. A., & Kroger, R. O. (2000). Doing discourse analysis: Methods for studying action in talk and text. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worsley, P. (1987). New introductory sociology (3rd ed.). London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ybema, S., Keenoy, T., Oswick, C., Beverungen, A., Ellis, N., & Sabelis, I. (2009). Articulating identities. Human Relations, 62(3), 299–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yodanis, C. L. (2002). Producing social class representations: Women’s work in a rural town. Gender & Society, 16, 323–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, R. (1995). Colonial desire: Hybridity in culture, theory and race. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victoria Wells.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Victoria Wells, after data collection had been completed, became a member of the co-operative board but no longer holds this position. Nick Ellis declares that he has no conflict of interest. Richard Slack declares he has no conflict of interest. Mona Moufahim declares she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wells, V., Ellis, N., Slack, R. et al. “It’s Us, You Know, There’s a Feeling of Community”: Exploring Notions of Community in a Consumer Co-operative. J Bus Ethics 158, 617–635 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3747-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3747-4

Keywords

Navigation