Rodgers, P., Shehryar, M. and Ljubownikow, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-7312-4050 (2016) Rethinking notions of informal work: Some observations from a Pakistani community in the UK. In: Academy of Management Proceedings. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 05-09 Aug 2016, Anaheim, California. Academy of Management
Abstract
Paid informal work has commonly been conceptualised as a form of paid employment heavily imbued with profit motivations. However, this article argues that such a market-oriented reading of paid informal exchange is often inappropriate. Using evidence from fifty interviews conducted with households in a large Pakistani community in the UK lends support to post-structuralist explanations of informal work. The results problematize the widespread use of neoliberal and structuralist theorizations to explain the prevalence of the informal economy in developed economies. Instead, the results highlight certain implicit social constructs existing within the labour process of informal businesses. Motivations drawn from these social artefacts, or what can be termed as 'immigrant agency', are found to be a major reason for Pakistani employers and employees engaging in mutually beneficial exchanges in the informal economy.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Academy of Management. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Academy of Management Proceedings. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | developed economies; informal economy; informal work |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Mar 2019 12:25 |
Last Modified: | 27 Mar 2019 12:25 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Academy of Management |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.5465/ambpp.2016.14165abstract |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:143706 |