Let us introduce the three candidates for the emma 2021 Best Paper Award. The authors of the selected papers will present their research in a special session at the annual emma conference. #emmaSweden takes place from 27 to 29 October at Jönköping International Business School in Jönköping (Sweden).
The nominees are:
Ankur Chavda & Minjae Kim
Why Might Hybrid Employment Increase Inequality?
Abstract:
A defining feature of contract work is that junior contract workers lack opportunities to grow within the formal hierarchy of organizations, thereby having to compete with senior others with workers at all levels to attain advanced roles. However, contract work is often paired project experimentation, where firms can try out workers as well as ideas during an experimental period before deciding to continue or abandon them. While such experimented projects may be more likely to recruit junior workers for advanced roles, junior workers collectively may no longer benefit when there are “too many” projects under experimentation. We find evidence supporting these arguments for actors in the TV programming industry, by comparing a form of experimentation, “piloting,” against non-experimental “straight-to-series” production.
Sylvia Chan-Olmsted & Lisa Charlotte Wolter
Sustainability and Brand Communication: Consumer Segment and Media Platform Implications
Abstract:
As brands are increasingly challenged to rethink and adapt their strategies to meet the growing consumer desire for sustainability, the decision of selecting media channels/brands that align with the desired sustainability messaging is becoming more critical. This paper examines sustainability in media and communications from a comprehensive, ecological-economic-social perspective. Using a national survey of over 800 German consumers, the study investigates how consumers perceive the importance of sustainability by topical areas in the context of brand communication; if there are distinct consumer segments based on brand related sustainability behavior and communication preferences; and how different media platforms are differentiated as channels of sustainability messaging.
Songming Feng, Adele Berndt, & Mart Ots
Striving for a sustainable and resilient life amidst Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of Wuhan citizens’ short video production on social media app Douyin during the lockdown
In the context of Wuhan, a Chinese city that implemented a 76-day Covid-19 lockdown and became closely associated with the pandemic, this paper examines how citizens used social media production to compensate the loss of physical meetings and enable social connection. Based on qualitative analysis of short videos on the Douyin app created by Wuhan citizens, the paper outlines (1) how interpersonal relations were embedded in videographic content, and (2) how videographic techniques were used to reproduce stay-at-home experiences of socializing virtually with others. The paper contributes to research about consumers’ responses to threats, videographic consumer research, and media management scholarship.
Congratulations!