Webs of significance: Articulating latent value structures in a rural cafe organized as a worker cooperative. Issue 2 (1st June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Powell, Lawrence; Wang, Pola; O'Neill, Linda; Dentice, Glenn; Neill, Lindsay
• Is Part Of: Hospitality & society. Volume 9:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 183
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2019-06-01
• Subjects: Hospitality industry -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Hospitality -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 338.4791
• DOI: 10.1386/hosp.9.2.183_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2042-7913

Abstract

This research seeks to clarify the staff value commitments that underlie hospitality ventures that choose to organize themselves as worker cooperatives. Although some studies have focused on organizational and economic aspects of such participatory, cooperative businesses, less is known about the staff values. This study examines the shared 'social values' and 'business culture' at Riverside Café, a small business established to bring additional revenues in support of Riverside Community – a 78-year-old rural pacifist community located near Motueka, New Zealand. To elaborate the values and associated business culture, and how the two interact in everyday life at Riverside Café, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with staff. Based on the transcribed recordings, dominant themes and subthemes were identified and classified. Salient clusters of 'values' emerging from the interviews were Harmony (peaceful living, tolerance, compassion, non-harming, balance), Social Justice (equality, freedom, sharing, creative craftsmanship), Interconnectedness (cooperation, community, right livelihood, sustainability), Trust (social bonds, reliability) and Post-materialism ('people over things', unselfishness, spirituality). Salient clusters of 'business culture' norms identified were Non-hierarchical Management and Service, and Commercial Imperatives. The discovered value categories highlight both the advantages and limitations of operating cafes as worker cooperatives.