Activists and volunteers organising amid constraints: the key role of time

IF 0.9 Q4 MANAGEMENT

Journal of Organizational Ethnography Pub Date : 2024-05-21 DOI:10.1108/joe-10-2022-0029

Simon Combes

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

This article emphasises the role of constraints when humans establish organisations. Previous research explains organisations because of individuals’ motivations. Here, I answer the question regarding the role of constraints in organising/organisations. In this article, the studied individuals face various constraints and want to avoid being targeted. Consequently, they establish horizontal organisations. I discuss the role of time in organising.

Design/methodology/approach

This research builds on an ethnographical study of activists and volunteers at the border between France and Italy where migrants cross the border. The area is mountainous, and the police, the judiciary and the far-right impede the actions of the activists and volunteers.

Findings

I argue that activists and volunteers establish non-hierarchical organisations to circumvent potential obstacles. To achieve this, they dedicated a significant amount of time to facilitate the formation of these horizontal structures. This approach allows them to operate without a designated leader, thereby reducing the risk of being targeted by law enforcement, judicial system or far-right groups. As a result, they successfully welcomed migrants.

Originality/value

This article presents new results on how activists and volunteers organise to welcome migrants.

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积极分子和志愿者在困难中组织起来：时间的关键作用

本文强调人类在建立组织时所受到的制约因素的作用。以往的研究解释组织是由于个人的动机造成的。在此，我将回答制约因素在组织/机构中的作用这一问题。在本文中，所研究的个体面临各种制约因素，并希望避免成为攻击目标。因此，他们建立了横向组织。我将讨论时间在组织中的作用。设计/方法/途径本研究基于对法国和意大利边境地区的活动家和志愿者进行的人种学研究，那里是移民过境的地方。该地区多山，警察、司法机构和极右翼势力阻碍了活动人士和志愿者的行动。研究结果我认为，活动人士和志愿者建立了非等级组织，以规避潜在的障碍。为此，他们投入了大量时间来促进这些横向组织的形成。这种方法使他们能够在没有指定领导的情况下开展活动，从而降低了成为执法部门、司法系统或极右翼团体攻击目标的风险。因此，他们成功地接待了移民。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Organizational Ethnography MANAGEMENT-

CiteScore

1.90

自引率

37.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Organizational Ethnography (JOE) has been launched to provide an opportunity for scholars, from all social and management science disciplines, to publish over two issues: -high-quality articles from original ethnographic research that contribute to the current and future development of qualitative intellectual knowledge and understanding of the nature of public and private sector work, organization and management -review articles examining the history and development of the contribution of ethnography to qualitative research in social, organization and management studies -articles examining the intellectual, pedagogical and practical use-value of ethnography in organization and management research, management education and management practice, or which extend, critique or challenge past and current theoretical and empirical knowledge claims within one or more of these areas of interest -articles on ethnographically informed research relating to the concepts of organization and organizing in any other wider social and cultural contexts.