The drama of interaction within business networks

Lowe, Sid; Purchase, Sharon; Ellis, Nick C.

doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.06.016

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…More recently, Lowe et al (2012) have also used a dramaturgical approach to the description of interaction within the ARA interaction model, by describing character roles of actors (related to actors), their use of props (related to resources), and specific types of role playing (related to activities). Their account of interaction as drama vividly shows the multi-faceted and complex social, emotional and cognitive nature of interaction in business relationships, which can be, in turn, linked to different types of embeddedness (structural, cognitive, etc.…”

Section: The Ara Interaction Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic sociology and the ARA interaction model

Rašković

2015

Journal of Business &Amp; Industrial Marketing

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply an economic sociology perspective to the activity–resource–actor (ARA) interaction model for business relationships. Interaction has been chosen as a conceptual domain where economic sociology has a particularly high potential to advance business-to-business (B2B) marketing in terms of its future research directions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a structured account of economic sociology through the description of eight key economic sociology concepts and discussion of the structuration theory. This is followed by an overview of the usage of the eight key economic sociology concepts in current B2B marketing research, and concludes with outlining eight specific future research directions which guide future research on interaction in business relationships. Findings – Eight economic sociology concepts are identified: embeddedness, networks, institutions, power, social capital, identity, social structures and cognition. An overview of the application of these constructs within the B2B marketing literature shows how most of them are used as metaphors with a gap in understanding their economic sociology background. Research limitations/implications – Future research directions are described individually, do not include potential interaction effects and are developed within the ARA interaction model framework. Given the conceptual nature of the paper, it does not provide any empirical data and illustrations related to any of the eight key economic sociology concepts. Originality/value – The paper answers a call for a wider integration of economic sociology into the B2B marketing literature. It provides a systematic eight-concept economic sociology framework to be used by B2B marketing theorists and researchers. The paper finishes with eight concrete future research directions through which an economic sociology perspective can help advance B2B marketing theory and business relationship management practice. A brief discussion of managerial implications is also provided at the end.

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Section: The Ara Interaction Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic sociology and the ARA interaction model

Rašković

2015

Journal of Business &Amp; Industrial Marketing

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“…In B2B research, Ford and Håkansson (2006) have discussed the importance of "theoretical metaphors" or stereotypes such as "markets" or "supply chains" in forming actors' subjective interpretations of networks, interactions and relationships. Following on from the use of "atmospheres" and "episodes" in the prior model, metaphors such as marriage (Dwyer et al, 1987;Johnston and Hausman, 2006;Stoltman and Morgan, 2002;Celuch et al, 2006), maps and pictures (Geiger and Finch, 2010;Lowe et al, 2012aLowe et al, , 2012b, drama (Lowe et al, 2012a(Lowe et al, , 2012b, dance (Wilkinson and Young, 1994;Wilkinson et al, 1998), waves as relationship dynamics (Edvardsson et al, 2014), neurological networks (Cunningham, 2007) and network "pictures" (Ford et al, 2003;Ford and Redwood, 2005;Mouzas et al, 2008;Henneberg et al, 2010) have been tropal representations recognized and adopted, with varying degrees of "uptake" by the group or parts thereof, over time.…”

Section: Tropes and Narratives In Industrial Marketing Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding structures and practices of meaning-making in industrial networks

Lowe

Rod

Hwang

2016

JBIM

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Purpose: To propose an approach for exploring industrial marketing network environments through a social semiotic lens. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper introduces social semiotic perspectives to the study of business/industrial network interaction. Findings: We describe how structures of meaning derived from a cultural history of signification and interpretive processes of meaning in action are co-determined in social semiosis. We emphasise the meaning of environments using this social semiotic approach, leading us to explore the idea of the 'atmosemiosphere' -the most highly complex business network level, in illustrating how meaning is made through structuration between structures of meaning and their enactments in interactions between actors within living business networks. Practical Implications: Figurative language plays an important role in the structuration of meaning. This facilitates establishing plots and, therefore, in the actors' capability to tell a story, which starts with knowing what kind of story can be told. By implication, the effective networker must be a consummate moving 'picture maker' and to do so, she must have competences in narrative, emplotment, myth-making, storytelling and figuration in more than one discursive repertoire. Originality/Value: In employing a structurational discourse perspective informed by social semiotics, our original contribution is a 'business networks as discursive constructions' approach in that discursive nets, webs of narratives and stories, and labyrinths of tropes are considered just as important in constituting networks as networks of actor relationships and patterns of other activities and resources.

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“…Put another way, if Bourdieu provides a description of experience in the theatres of practice, Goffman provides a description of its performances. In Goffman's (1974) terms, the actor's performativity involves displaying a recognizable character as an appropriate identity (Lowe et al, 2012), requiring displays of alignment with culturally scripted roles / stereotypes and activities or framing of action. Actors must perform within tolerances prescribed by their code-framed, scripted roles as configured by cultural expectations about their gender, age, class, status and power (Tannen, 1994).…”

Section: Contributions Of Bourdieu and Goffmanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the perceived value of social practice theories for business-to-business marketing managers

Lowe

Rod

Kainzbauer

et al. 2016

JOCM

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Structured AbstractPurpose: Drawing on sociological theories of Giddens, Bourdieu and Goffman, we explore how different relationships are characterized between actors in interaction and determine whether social theories of practice resonate as being practical to business marketers. Design/methodology/approach: In our empirical investigations, we employ the Delphi Method whereby we 'elevate' 6 highly experienced marketing practitioners in Dubai and Bangkok, each in different industries and from different cultural backgrounds, to designated 'expert' positions in exploring the practical relevance of the practice-based theories of Bourdieu, the dramaturgy of Goffman and the structuration theory of Giddens in understanding practical experiences of managing in business (B2B) networks. Findings: Our results show that aspects of these theories are consistent with practitioners' experiences in many ways but the theories themselves do not appear to resonate with the modernist practical consciousness of our participants as being particularly pragmatic or practically useful except as resources they could selectively borrow from as bricoleurs of changing action. Originality/value: Social practice theories appear rather too abstract and complex to practical actors. It is therefore paradoxical that social practice theories do not appear as sufficiently 'handy' or 'ready-to-hand' in Heidegger's (1962) terms; being in need of translation into practical usefulness. It would appear that social practice theories can be a useful analytical vehicle for the academic analyst but cannot resonate with the modernist consciousness of the practical actor.Key words: social practice theories, business interaction, Bourdieu, Goffman, Delphi 1 | P a g e Exploring the Perceived Value of Social Practice Theories for Business-to-Business Marketing ManagersIntroduction Rationalistic thinking and statistical logic were for a long time in social science privileged over embodied influences upon judgment (Kahneman, 2011, p. 8). Social sciences from the 1970's were inclined to assume that people were generally rational. In this view embodied influences, such as emotions and intuitions, were retardants to the obvious benefits of rationality. Western 'Enlightenment' thinking promotes and privileges rational and 'foundationalist' logic, where thinking/knowledge should precede speech and action. In the Aristotelian / Cartesian West, language is crucially important for establishing the logic of the "knowledge-creation-application-performance" sequence (Chia, 2003, p. 953) because the knowledgeable person must first have a command of rhetoric to be effective and convincing. In Western cultures, knowing is a prerequisite of action and knowing is accomplished through language. To act rationally requires you to know what you are doing and to know what you are doing requires you to be able to communicate before doing it.This paper explores the complexities involved in comparing rationalist logic and some antifoundationalist alternatives provided by social pract...

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The drama of interaction within business networks

Cited by 18 publications

References 39 publications

Economic sociology and the ARA interaction model

Economic sociology and the ARA interaction model

Understanding structures and practices of meaning-making in industrial networks

Exploring the perceived value of social practice theories for business-to-business marketing managers

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