Reza Azarian

Social Ties Elements of a Substantive Conceptualization

Paradoxically, the contemporary network approach has so far declined to produce a theoretically elaborate account of social relationships — the very core entities that underpin both its ontological outlook and methodological stance. This article addresses certain substantive aspects of social connectivity that are either theoretically underdeveloped or largely neglected in this approach. These include: (1) the essential and defining properties of relationships; (2) their inherent dynamics; (3) the impact of larger socio-cultural contexts in which specific ties and networks emerge; and, finally, (4) various grounds of connectivity and general types of social ties. The article concludes with a discussion of how the prevailing formalistic conception of social tie poses an obstacle to the materialization of the great potentials of the network approach and how a substantive re-conceptualization of its bedrock entity may open up the possibility of turning this mode of inquiry into a truly relational approach.

Joint actions, stories and symbolic structures: a contribution to Herbert Blumer’s conceptual framework

Despite its centrality in Blumer’s conceptual framework, the notion of joint action remains theoretically underdeveloped and empirically underutilised. To fill this void, the present article focuses on the dynamics inherent to the formation of joint action, and highlights actors’ deployment of available symbolic rules and resources for constructing the legitimising accounts that normally accompany their lines of action. The construction of such accounts, or stories, is viewed here as the prime means of reducing the intrinsic contingency of joint action and determining its content and terms as well as its direction and prospects. The article concludes by underscoring the importance of the suggested theoretical input for tapping some of the potential of Blumer’s approach, especially the one regarding its capacity to address subtle forms of power.

Trade-offs in Choice of Inter-firm Transaction Structure : A Qualitative Study of Perceived Comparative Advantages of Business Relation over Vertical Integration

This article investigates how a plastic manufacturing firm handles the challenging task of comparing and choosing among the feasible alternative modes of structuring the flow of repeated transaction with one of its key suppliers. Qualitative interviews are used to explore the perceptions of the management of the firm concerning the advantages and disadvantages associated with each alternative, and the main findings suggest that the selection of the transaction structure intended to reduce boundary uncertainty is itself an uncertain choice. Since many of the gains and drawbacks of the alternatives are unknown and even unknowable in advance, the firm is unable to set up a conclusive comparative assessment to underpin its choice. Instead it is inclined to select the alternative that is perceived as the one allowing most flexibility.

Uncertainty as a Common Ground for a Dialogue between Economics and Sociology

ABSTRACT The article focuses on inter-firm relations, primarily seen as protective devises crafted for keeping at an arms length various kinds of uncertainties involved in boundary transactions. Taking a holistic view, it proposes the notion of relational habitat, which refers to the relatively durable constellation of relations that connect a given firm to its main business partners. Performing a double-edged protective function, this constellation both stabilizes and simplifies the immediate operational domain of the firm and, thereby, diminishes to manageable levels the complexity of the relevant parts of the environment. By expanding the control of the firm beyond its organizational borders, relational habitat reduces the constraining impact of boundary uncertainty and enhances the action capacity of the firm – facilitating the materialization of its chosen line of action and its desired objectives. The article specifies this notion in detail and highlights some of its implications, both for the theoretical development of economic sociology and for its relation to economics.

Rational imitation among producer firms: Some insights from social psychology

Focusing on production markets, the article provides a detailed description of the particular conditions that turn rational imitation the most feasible strategy for reducing the uncertainties that ...

The Emancipation of Europe's Muslims: The State's Role in Minority Integration

The book reports on a historically significant process of architecting the relation between European states and the Muslims communities. More specifically, it describes the intentions, ambitions and outcomes of the attempts undertaken by the national governments of the host countries like Britain, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain which after leaving their Muslim minorities outside domestic institutions for decades (196