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

Victoria Wells (), Nick Ellis (), Richard Slack () and Mona Moufahim ()
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Victoria Wells: York University
Nick Ellis: Durham University
Richard Slack: Durham University
Mona Moufahim: Durham University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, vol. 158, issue 3, No 3, 617-635

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Consumer co-operative; Community; Identity; Symbolic boundaries; Tensions; Discourse analysis; Public house (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3747-4

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