Toward a Theory of Social Practices A Development in Culturalist Theorizing
TL;DR: The main characteristics of practice theory, a type of social theory which has been sketched by such authors as Bourdieu, Giddens, Taylor, late Foucault and others, are discussed in this paper.
Abstract: This article works out the main characteristics of `practice theory', a type of social theory which has been sketched by such authors as Bourdieu, Giddens, Taylor, late Foucault and others. Practice theory is presented as a conceptual alternative to other forms of social and cultural theory, above all to culturalist mentalism, textualism and intersubjectivism. The article shows how practice theory and the three other cultural-theoretical vocabularies differ in their localization of the social and in their conceptualization of the body, mind, things, knowledge, discourse, structure/process and the agent.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of service-dominant (S-D) logic and develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value cocreation.
Abstract: Central to service-dominant (S-D) logic is the proposition that the customer becomes a co-creator of value. This emphasizes the development of customer–supplier relationships through interaction and dialog. However, research to date suggests relatively little is known about how customers engage in the co-creation of value. In this article, the authors: explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of S-D logic; develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value co-creation; and utilize field-based research to illustrate practical application of the framework. This process-based framework provides a structure for customer involvement that takes account of key foundational propositions of S-D logic and places the customer explicitly at the same level of importance as the company as co-creators of value. Synthesis of diverse concepts from research on services, customer value and relationship marketing into a new process-based framework for co-creation provide new insights into managing the process of value co-creation.
3,114 citations
Cites background from "Toward a Theory of Social Practices..."
...Building on the ideas of Reckwitz (2002) and Schatzki (2001), he defines a practice as a set of routinized actions which consist of tools, know-how, images, physical space, and an active player who is willing to carry out and carry on the practice....
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TL;DR: The huge corpus of work on consumption still lacks theoretical consolidation as mentioned in this paper, which is most obvious when contemplating the situations of different disciplines, where there is very little common ground (see, for example, the review in Miller 1995). But the problem is no less great in individual disciplines like sociology, where output seems to have been bipolar, generating either abstract and speculative social theory or detailed case studies.
Abstract: The huge corpus of work on consumption still lacks theoretical consolidation. This is most obvious when contemplating the situations of different disciplines, where there is very little common ground (see, for example, the review in Miller 1995). But the problem is no less great in individual disciplines like sociology, for example, where output seems to me to have been bipolar, generating either abstract and speculative social theory or detailed case studies. Moreover, case studies have been skewed towards favourite, but restricted, topics—fashion, advertising and some forms of popular recreational activity—with particular attention paid to their symbolic meanings and role in the formation of self-identity. These case studies, perhaps encouraged by prominent versions of the abstract theories which say that the consumer has no choice but to choose and will be judged in terms of the symbolic adequacy of that choice (e.g. Bauman 1988; Giddens 1991), very often operated with models of highly autonomous individuals preoccupied with symbolic communication. Believing that these approaches give a partial understanding of consumption, this chapter sketches an alternative, avoiding methodological individualist accounts of ‘the consumer’, which are concerned as much with what people do and feel as what they mean.
2,303 citations
Cites background from "Toward a Theory of Social Practices..."
...Hence attempts to isolate features common to all produces a comparatively sparse and abstract list of distinctive characteristics (for attempts see Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki et al., 2001: 1–5)....
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...(Reckwitz, 2002: 256) This view, while minimizing the analytic importance of individuality, does not prohibit the description and characterization of the consumption behaviour of a single individual....
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...My abridgement is indebted to Bourdieu (especially 1990[1980]), Schatzki (1996), Giddens (1984), and to a much lesser extent MacIntyre (1985), and is oriented by the very useful overview of Reckwitz (2002)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, an eleventh foundational premise (fifth axiom) is introduced, focusing on the role of institutions and institutional arrangements in systems of value cocreation: service ecosystems.
Abstract: Service-dominant logic continues its evolution, facilitated by an active community of scholars throughout the world. Along its evolutionary path, there has been increased recognition of the need for a crisper and more precise delineation of the foundational premises and specification of the axioms of S-D logic. It also has become apparent that a limitation of the current foundational premises/axioms is the absence of a clearly articulated specification of the mechanisms of (often massive-scale) coordination and cooperation involved in the cocreation of value through markets and, more broadly, in society. This is especially important because markets are even more about cooperation than about the competition that is more frequently discussed. To alleviate this limitation and facilitate a better understanding of cooperation (and coordination), an eleventh foundational premise (fifth axiom) is introduced, focusing on the role of institutions and institutional arrangements in systems of value cocreation: service ecosystems. Literature on institutions across multiple social disciplines, including marketing, is briefly reviewed and offered as further support for this fifth axiom.
2,225 citations
Cites background from "Toward a Theory of Social Practices..."
...Another factor that favors the advancement of a full institutional perspective in marketing more likely at this time relates to the development of practice theory in sociology (e.g., Bourdieu 1977; Giddens 1984; Reckwitz 2002) and its subsequent importation into (e....
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...…perspective in marketing more likely at this time relates to the development of practice theory in sociology (e.g., Bourdieu 1977; Giddens 1984; Reckwitz 2002) and its subsequent importation into (e.g., Araujo and Spring 2006; Kjellberg and Helgesson 2006) and application to (e.g., Edvardsson…...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors reveal the process of collective value creation within brand communities and identify 12 common practices across brand communities, organized by four thematic aggregates, through which consumers realize value beyond that which the firm creates or anticipates.
Abstract: Using social practice theory, this article reveals the process of collective value creation within brand communities. Moving beyond a single case study, the authors examine previously published research in conjunction with data collected in nine brand communities comprising a variety of product categories, and they identify a common set of value-creating practices. Practices have an “anatomy” consisting of (1) general procedural understandings and rules (explicit, discursive knowledge); (2) skills, abilities, and culturally appropriate consumption projects (tacit, embedded knowledge or how-to); and (3) emotional commitments expressed through actions and representations. The authors find that there are 12 common practices across brand communities, organized by four thematic aggregates, through which consumers realize value beyond that which the firm creates or anticipates. They also find that practices have a physiology, interact with one another, function like apprenticeships, endow participants ...
2,099 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and assumptions and present a short and deliberately provocative paper.
Abstract: In this short and deliberately provocative paper I reflect on what seems to be a yawning gulf between the potential contribution of the social sciences and the typically restricted models and conce...
1,944 citations
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TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
16,208 citations
"Toward a Theory of Social Practices..." refers background in this paper
...Anthony Giddens (1979, 1984) develops his version of practice theory in the framework of a ‘theory of structuration’, heavily influenced by late Wittgenstein....
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Book•
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: Giddens as discussed by the authors has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
13,552 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1967
TL;DR: This work focuses on Ethnomethodology, which investigates the role of sex status in the lives of the Intersexed Person and some of the rules of Correct Decisions that Jurors Respect.
Abstract: 1. What is Ethnomethodology?. 2. Studies of the Routine Grounds of Everyday Activities. 3. Common Sense Knowledge of Social Structures: The Documentary Method of Interpretation in Lay and Professional Fact Finding. 4. Some Rules of Correct Decisions that Jurors Respect. 5. Passing and the Managed Achievement of Sex Status in the Intersexed Person. 6. "Good Organizational Reasons for a Bada Clinic Records". 7. Methodological Adequacy in the Quantitative Study of Selection Criteria and Selection Practices in Psychiatric Outpatient Clinics. 8. The Rational Properties of Scientific and Common Sense Activities. Appendix.
11,533 citations
Book•
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TL;DR: This epoch-making book cuts through confused thinking and forces us to re-examine many cherished ideas about knowledge, imagination, consciousness and the intellect as mentioned in this paper, and the result is a classic example of philosophy.
Abstract: This epoch-making book cuts through confused thinking and forces us to re-examine many cherished ideas about knowledge, imagination, consciousness and the intellect. The result is a classic example of philosophy.
7,048 citations