Reconfiguring Organizational Commitments: Boundary Crossing in Civic Groups

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Scholarship on boundary crossing in organizations typically focuses on endogenous strategic decisions to...     

Trade-offs in Online Purchase Decisions:: Two Empirical Studies in Europe

The Internet offers firms a new way to market their products and services and to interact with their end-consumers. While many firms have developed websites, very little is known about the trade-offs consumers are willing to make when making online purchases. With millions of websites competing for attention, online firms need to know in what way consumers make purchase decisions online. Consumers mainly evaluate websites on the basis of choice and convenience. In this paper, we present the results of two European studies that examine what consumers actually value in an online environment. In study 1, we assess choice-related trade-offs in terms of number of product categories, variety of products within a given category and product-related information. Conjoint analysis revealed that product-related information represents an important decision-making variable. In study 2, we assess convenience-related trade-offs in terms of logistics, fulfilment and security. Conjoint analysis revealed that fulfilment is the most important variable related to online handling. Finally, our study clearly indicates that firms have to distinguish different consumer segments on the basis of their preferences. This knowledge enables online firms to use their resources more effectively.     

When community becomes an agent of educational support: communicative research on Learning Communities in Catalonia

Educational support is a key component of any inclusive school. However, many traditional forms of support have been proven ineffective and even exclusionary for the most vulnerable students and their families. This article presents the results of a study conducted over four years by a diverse research team of university professors, PhD students, teachers and head teachers of schools operating as Learning Communities in Catalonia, Spain. The communicative and dialogic approach of these schools offers an alternative understanding of educational support, which is influenced to a great extent by the creation of networks that include participation by diverse agents. The current article provides a theoretical grounding for this approach to support. The article describes the role of different agents from the community and analyses the main effects of this approach and students’ experiences. Finally, a proposal for a dialogic orientation for educational support is discussed.     

Networks,case managers,and the job-search experiences of unemployed people

Employment services are commonly provided in network settings, but it is rare to find social policy analyses of how unemployed people search for jobs through networks. In a germinal analysis of social networks and employment, Mark Granovetter argued that “weak ties” (less familiar contacts) are more important to finding employment than are “strong ties” (family and friends). This is because weak ties provide more novel job-relevant information. Scholarship since Granovetter has predominantly supported the opposite argument, namely, that strong ties are more important for the unemployed, because they are more plentiful and thus provide more information in aggregate. Findings are also generally coloured by the focus being on “informal” networks or personal contacts. “Formal” networks, as represented most cogently by employment service providers, are absent or underestimated in most social network studies. On the basis of a qualitative study of 80 long-term unemployed people in Australia, incorporating analysis of both informal and formal networks, we argue that although “strong informal” ties are vital to job search, it is also important to consider “weak formal” ties, which can be complementary if and where service organizations are able to supply positive case management experiences.     

MUTUALITY,MEAD & MCCLURE: MORE ‘BIG M'S’ FOR THE UNEMPLOYED?

Mutual obligation recognises the interdependence of individuals, communities and broader social groupings. All members of society — government, business, community organisations, families and individuals — have obligations to each other (McClure Report, 2000a: 51).     

The compliance challenge: Implications for social security in the People's Republic of China

Abstract   Discussion of social security compliance in developing societies has mainly focused on systemic administrative and operational issues. The article argues that analysis of compliance calls also for frameworks which draw lessons from nation-specific policy circumstances and comparisons of social protection regime types. Using such an approach, it also examines social security compliance in the context of China. Four considerations are found to be central to improved compliance: the sustainability of economic growth; trust in social institutions and regulations; the differing social values inherent in regime types; and institutional inertia accumulated in China's existing policy path.     

The empowerment of marginals: strategic paradoxes

This article is about the disability movement in the Netherlands and its strategies for empowerment of disabled people. Only since the end of 2003 has the Netherlands enjoyed anti‐discrimination legislation for disabled people. But, how important actually is legislation for the empowerment of disabled people? To answer this question, we take a closer look at social movements and their involvement in empowerment and active citizenship. We criticise the disregard of differences and care in notions of active citizenship and propose instead the idea of a ‘varied society’ based on the notions of diverse and ‘careful citizenship’. One of our main arguments is that empowerment strategies necessary to create this kind of society are above all bottom‐up strategies. However, the highly organised disability movement in the Netherlands is confronted with strategic paradoxes that have ‘de‐powering’ consequences. Based on these paradoxes, five recommendations for the disability movement in the Netherlands are presented.