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Journal ArticleDOI

Power and powerlessness : quiescence and rebellion in an Appalachian valley

01 Dec 1981-Social Forces (University of Illinois Press)-Vol. 11, Iss: 2, pp 315
TL;DR: In this paper, the conflicts between the financial interests of the coal and land companies and the moral rights of the vulnerable mountaineers are explained to outsiders, and the conflicts are discussed.
Abstract: Explains to outsiders the conflicts between the financial interests of the coal and land companies, and the moral rights of the vulnerable mountaineers.
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Paul Pierson1
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conceptualized path dependence as a social process grounded in a dynamic of increasing returns, and demonstrated that increasing returns processes are likely to be prevalent and that good analytical foundations exist for exploring their causes and consequences.
Abstract: It is increasingly common for social scientists to describe political processes as “path dependent.” The concept, however, is often employed without careful elaboration. This article conceptualizes path dependence as a social process grounded in a dynamic of “increasing returns.” Reviewing recent literature in economics and suggesting extensions to the world of politics, the article demonstrates that increasing returns processes are likely to be prevalent, and that good analytical foundations exist for exploring their causes and consequences. The investigation of increasing returns can provide a more rigorous framework for developing some of the key claims of recent scholarship in historical institutionalism: Specific patterns of timing and sequence matter; a wide range of social outcomes may be possible; large consequences may result from relatively small or contingent events; particular courses of action, once introduced, can be almost impossible to reverse; and consequently, political development is punctuated by critical moments or junctures that shape the basic contours of social life.

5,652 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that status and power are two important yet distinct bases of hierarchical differentiation, and that status, related to the respect one has in the eyes of others, generates expectations for behavior and opportunities for advancement that favor those with a prior status advantage.
Abstract: Hierarchy is such a defining and pervasive feature of organizations that its forms and basic functions are often taken for granted in organizational research. In this review, we revisit some basic psychological and sociological elements of hierarchy and argue that status and power are two important yet distinct bases of hierarchical differentiation. We first define power and status and distinguish our definitions from previous conceptualizations. We then integrate a number of different literatures to explain why status and power hierarchies tend to be self‐reinforcing. Power, related to one’s control over valued resources, transforms individual psychology such that the powerful think and act in ways that lead to the retention and acquisition of power. Status, related to the respect one has in the eyes of others, generates expectations for behavior and opportunities for advancement that favor those with a prior status advantage. We also explore the role that hierarchy‐enhancing belief systems play...

1,453 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of seven cases of social entrepreneurship that have been widely recognized as successful is presented, and the implications for social entrepreneurship practice, research, and continued development are discussed.
Abstract: This study provides a comparative analysis of 7 cases of social entrepreneurship that have been widely recognized as successful. The article suggests factors associated with successful social entrepreneurship, particularly with social entrepreneurship that leads to significant changes in the social, political, and economic contexts for poor and marginalized groups. It generates propositions about core innovations, leadership and organization, and scaling up in social entrepreneurship that produces societal transformation. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for social entrepreneurship practice, research, and continued development.

1,101 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that rather than declaiming the "radical particularism" of localism, it is more productive to question an "unreflexive localism" and to forge localist alliances that pay attention to equality and social justice.

969 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors see participation as a dynamic process, and understand that its own form and function can become a focus for struggle, and that participation may take place for a whole range of unfree reasons.
Abstract: Participation must be seen as political. There are always tensions underlying issues such as who is involved, how, and on whose terms. While participation has the potential to challenge patterns of dominance, it may also be the means through which existing power relations are entrenched and reproduced. The arenas in which people perceive their interests and judge whether they can express them are not neutral. Participation may take place for a whole range of unfree reasons. It is important to see participation as a dynamic process, and to understand that its own form and function can become a focus for struggle.

924 citations