Service Work
Bhatnagar, K., Cayla, J., Dion, D. and Gregorio Fuschillo (2023), Consumer Sovereignty and the Ethics of Recognition. Journal of Business Ethics. Forthcoming
Abstract The rising prominence of consumer sovereignty, wherein businesses prioritize customers as kings, presents complex ethical dilemmas. This paper delves into the ethical implications of consumer sovereignty by examining the lack of recognition to which service workers are subjected in their interactions with customers. Applying the sensitizing lens of recognition theory, we investigate how the relational domination inherent in the service industry ultimately results in four main recognition gaps: visibility, status recognition, affective recognition, and capacity recognition gaps. These gaps considerably hinder an employee’s ability to experience workplace dignity. Our findings enrich the business ethics literature by providing a more holistic analysis of the ethical challenges raised by consumer sovereignty. We introduce recognition theory as a framework to address these concerns and offer recommendations for managers to better support their service employees in overcoming the absence of customer recognition.
Welté, J. B., Cayla, J., & Fischer, E. (2022). Navigating contradictory logics in the field of luxury retailing. Journal of Retailing, 98 (3), 510-526.
Abstract When designing luxury retail experiences, luxury managers are often encouraged to focus on a single logic: the logic of distinction. Evidence suggests, however, that multiple logics influence the field of luxury retailing. In this paper, we explore the implications of such multiplicity, focusing particularly on logics coming into tension with one another.
Cayla, Julien, and Kushagra Bhatnagar. "Language and power in India's “new services”." Journal of Business Research 72 (2017): 189-198.
Abstract: Language is at the heart of service interactions and a crucial element influencing the relationship between service provider and customer. As a specific form of symbolic capital, language can also be used to exclude and dominate.
Our research looks at the role of language in shaping the power dynamic between service providers and customers in the Indian context. This study builds from extensive fieldwork conducted in the area of “new services”, following Indian gym trainers and coffee shop baristas as they interact with elite English-speaking clients. The findings detail how English operates as an invisible boundary in service settings, by excluding Indians who do not speak it with fluency. However, when used to develop expert knowledge, language also becomes an opportunity for lower middle class Indians to resist and invert the domination of the elite.
Cayla, J., Cova, B., & Maltese, L. (2013). Party time: recreation rituals in the world of B2B. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(11-12), 1394–1421
Abstract We examine the role of business parties in business markets: why do B2B companies spend such large amounts of money to sponsor events meant for public consumption, such as sporting events, when most of their activity involves selling to other organisations? Drawing from extensive qualitative fieldwork in the world of tennis tournaments, we detail the specific universe of parties that happen backstage, between companies sponsoring these events. This context helps illuminate the critical role of business parties in business networks. Far from being mere recreation at the company’s expense, business parties are important opportunities for executives to develop andmanage their relationships. We show that a business party functions as a particular kind of ritual by creating a distinct universe with its own language, gestures, and other modes of interaction.
Baas, Michiel, and Julien Cayla. "Recognition in India’s new service professions: Gym trainers and coffee baristas." Consumption Markets & Culture 23.3 (2020): 223-240.
Abstract How do employees in “new services”, such as coffee baristas and gym trainers in India, see their jobs? In this paper, we build on extensive fieldwork in gyms and coffee chains that cater to the emerging Indian middle classes. Our research highlights the importance of respect and recognition in making service interactions more meaningful for new service workers.