Corporate Power and the Market: Automotve Performance and the Automobie Industry

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CORPORATE POWER AND THE MARKETAUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE AND THE

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

by

ALAN LISTIAK

A Thesis su bmitted in confo rmity with the requ irem entsfor the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in theUniversity of Toronto

ALAN LISTIAK, 1981


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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTOSCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

PROGRAM OF THE FINAL ORAL EXAMINATIONFOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

OF

ALAN M. LISTIAK

10:00 a.m., Friday, December 12, 1980Room 111, 63 St. George Street

CORPORATE POWER AND THE MARKET:AUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE AND THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Committee in Charge:Professor D. Hunt, ChairmanProfessor B. BaldusProfessor U. FranklinProfessor R. Gillis, Internal AppraiserProfessor R. MacKayProfessor R. Ossenberg, External ExaminerProfessor J.G. ReitzProfessor A.T. Turk, Supervisor

Professor W. Van der Berg


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CORPORATE POWER AND THE MARKET:AUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE AND THE

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

BY

ALAN LISTJAK

This dissertation is an examination of the sociological debate overthe nature of corporate power and the market for consumer goods in modern society.Two sociological theoretical positions, the pluralist/functionalist and theelite/class, are compared and contrasted with respect to this issue. They arethen critically tested by applying them to the automobile industry and thedevelopment of the meanings and physical shape of the automobile, in particular,the controversial meanings and designs associated with those non-transportationthemes subsumed under the notion of "performance."

In comparing and contrasting Che plural ist/ functiona 1 is t and the elite/class theories three basic conceptual areas must be examined: (.1) the natureof power and its exercise; (2) the nature of corporate behaviour; and (3) the 'nature of the. market and consumption in modern society. The pluralist/function-alist position depticts corporate power as well socialized and externally controllewhereas the elite/class position depicts a corporate elite/ruling corporateclass able to control the political arena and the market. Empirical research hasdone little to resolve this debate. It: is suggested that part of this loggerheadis due to the inadequate conception of power which underlies these positions.This conception is individualistic and limited in Its scope. This is particularlyproblematic for the elite/class perspective because much of what it describes as

icorporate power is not consistent with this basic concept A more sociological


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conception of power is proposed to comprehend this description based upon theworks of Steven Lukes, Tom Baumgartner et al., and Bernd Tialdus. Termed themeta-power view it conceives of power as the exercise of relational control,that i s, the ability to structure social relationships in an interaction systemby manipulating action possibilities, reward structures, and orientations. Thisconception is applicable, to the collective actions of organizations and institutioA number of power strategies are discussed and special attention given to thestrategy of the incorporation of complementary bahaviour patterns.

Corporate bahaviour is conceptualized interrns of the model of organi-zations in action developed by James Thompson. Both theoretical positions areapplied to this model and the respectives views, of corporate behaviour in themarket discussed. Both positions are also examined regarding their similarviews of the market as a major social location for the expression of individualfreedom, creativity, status, etc. Their differences with respect to the role ofculture in determining human needs and their expression, and rhe role ofadvertising are discussed.

The two positions are applied to the American automobile industry andthe development of the automobile. Hypotheses are derived from each predictingthe nature of the interaction between automobile manufacturers and consumers withrespect to the determination of automotive design and meaning. These were testedusing secondary sources: The meta-power view was supported. It: was found thatmanufacturers exercised relational control over the market by selectively emnha-zining and developing automotive designs and meanings which measured high inthe dimensions of exclusiveness, machismo, styling, ergonomics and reputation.Other dimensions such as safety, technology, economy, functional!sm, and durabilitwere measured low in emphasis and development. The dimension of machismo whichcontains the themes of power, performance, speed, masculinity has proven to bea particularly problematic automotive dimension. These performance themes have


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been the subjec t of increasing public concern and critic ism, particula rly sinceWorld War II. Parall el with this criticism has developed a subculture k nownas hot rodding which util izes'the automobile as a physica l and symbolic resourc

to expres s perfo rmance and mach ismo val ues and mo ti ves , as well as others suchas reb elli on, freedo m, hedo nism , and action -seeki ng. Origina lly viewed as adevian t and dangero us mino ri ty, by the 1960s it had achie ved a degree of socialrespecta bility as a commercial sport . To explain the machism o and perfor mancecontent of Ameri can auto motive de sign, several hypotheses were derived fromeach theore tical position regard ing the nature of the relati onship between theauto manu fact urer s and hot rodder s. They were tested by assessing the attitudeof the man ufa ctu rer s and the public toward hot roddin g through a content ana lysand a hist oric al ana lysis of the relatio nship in question over the postwar perito 1968. It was found that hot rodd ing fun ctioned as a comp lemen tary beha viou rpattern which was sele ctive ly inco rpor ated and suppo rted by r.he industry. Thisincorpo ration was based upon certain structural con sider ation s and priorities othe manu factu rers in their efforts to reduce demand u ndertai nty for their produc

In the 1950s hot rod symbo lis m was incorpor ated into design and adve rtisi ng aimeat mid dle class con sume rs by framing it in a context of comfort and c ontrolledexp res sio n. In the 1960s such symb olis m was no longer contained within the middcla ss conte xt but stood on its own. Hot rod races were used to 1 ej>i r. Lmize horspower increases and to "proxy" durability and progre ss. Hot rodding was alsoviewe d as a mea ns of tappi ng the youth marker.. It was supporte d dir ectly andindirectl y by the manuf acture rs at variou s lev els. Witho ut this support andwithout the increasingly powerful automobi les provided by the industry, hot roddwould not have developed into the mar ket or the spect acular sport it has. Theperf orm anc e market of the 1960s is thus a struct ured out com e of the in dustry 'sactions in the 1950s to develop and incorporate hot rodd ing.


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This disserations shows the utility of the conception of power in termsof meta-power and relational control. The emphasis on structural variables andinteraction systems provides a sociological orientation to power that is missingin the predominant approaches to power. As such it is able to comprehend situatas involving the exercise of power which would not be considered as such by thetraditional approach. This enables the terms of reference to be expanded anda more adequate representation of social reality to be comprehended in sociologianalysis.


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To the memory of my Father


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PageACKN OWLE DGEM ENTS vi iABSTRACT xiCHAPTER

PART I. INTRO DUCTIO N1. STA TEM ENT OF THE PROBLEM 2

Theoretical Develop ment 6Auto moti ve Perform ance and the Auto mobi le Industry. 13Contributions 24Outl ine of Study 26

PART II. THEORETI CAL DISCUSSION2. CORPORA TE POWER AND ITS CONCEP TUALIZ ATION 32

Corporate Capitalism, Revisionist History, andNeo- Marx ism 33His tor y, Libe rali sm, and Pluralism 41Who Controls the Corporat ion . 4 5The Conc epti on of Power 59Recon cept ualiz ation of Power 70Levels of An al ys is : Power as Str uct ure . . . . 72Concep tualiz ing Power as Structure 76The Resear ch Problem 94

3. PLUR ALIS T/FU NCTI ONAL IST VIEWS OF CORPORAT E BEHAVIOURAND THE ENVI RONM ENT 98The Pluralist/Functionalist View of Organization-Enviro nment Interaction 99Organi zation Theory and the Enviro nment 109Org ani zat ion s in Action 119The Institu tional School 126S u m m a r y , 1 3 0

4. COR PORA TE POWER STR UCTU RES AND THE ENV IRO NME NT . . 136Corpo ration s as Power Structures 137The Corpo rat e Cap ita list Class and the Marke t . . . 142Corpo rate Power Structur es.and the Enviro nment . . 148Summary and Comm ent 1565. CONSUMPTIO N AND CONTR OL: NEE DS, CUL TUR E, THE

M A R K E T , AND CORPO RATION S 160The Mark et: Producer Sovereignty versus ConsumerSovereignty 163


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C H A P T E R p a g eT h e P l u r a l i s t / F u n c t i o n a l i s t V i e w 1 66Crit ical Theo ry and the Ma rke t 172The Two Views Con sid ere d 183

6. T H E O R E T I C A L S U M M A R Y A N D F O R M U L A T I O N S 1 8 6

P A R T I I I . A U T O M O T I V E P E R F O R M A N C E , T H EA U T O M O B I L E I N D U S T R Y , A N D T H E C O N S U M E R7. T H E A U T O M O B I L E A N D I TS D E F I N I T I O N 1 95

Th e Su bs t an ti ve Pr ob le m ;1:95A u t o m o t i v e P e r f o r m a n c e : " E x tr a M o t i v e s " 2 01H o t R o d d i n g : E x t r a M o t i v e s f r o m D e v i a n t toL e g i t i m a t e 2 0 7I n c i t e m e n t t o P e r f o r m a n c e : t he A u t o m o b i l eI n d u s t r y I n d i c t e d 2 1 4C o n c l u s i o n s 2 2 3

8 . T H E A U T O M O B I L E I N D U S T R Y , T H E C O N S U M E R A N D T H E H O TR O D D E R 2 2 8T h e A u t o m o b i l e I n d u s t r y a n d t h e A u t o m o b i l e 2 2 9T h e A u t o m b i l e I n d u s t r y a nd th e D e v e l o p m e n t o f t h eA u t o m o b i l e : t h e T w o V i e w s C o n s i d e r e d 2 3 5T h e P l u r a l i s t / F u n c t i o n a l i s t V i e w 2 3 5T h e M e t a - P o w e r V i e w 2 4 2D i r e c t i o n s 2 5 5

9. I N I T I A L A N A L Y S I S A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y 2 5 9A d v e r t i s i n g , P r o d u c t D e v e l o p m e n t a nd R e l a t i o n a lC o n t r o l : Roy Van Ti l' s Stu dy 259M e t h o d o l o g y 2 6 9

1 0. T H E F I N D I N G S O F T H E C O N T E N T A N A L Y S I S 2 7 7Pub lic At tit ude s in Life 277I n d u s t r y A t t i t u d e s in B u s i n e s s W e e k 2 8 9Su mm ar y ,. . 29 8

1 1 . T H E I N C O R P O R A T I O N O F H O T R O D D I N G : H O T R O D D I N G A N DTHE IND UST RY TO THE EAR LY 1950s 301T h e E a r l y Y e a r s : t h e A u t o m o b i l e I n d u s t r y a n dHot Rod din g 302T he A u t om o b il e a n d H o t R o d d i n g 3 13The Ear ly 1950 s 318( 1 ) P e r f o r m a n c e E v a l u a t i o n , ( 2 ) T o o l i n g ,( 3 ) L e g i t i m a t i o n a n d S c a p e g o a t i n g 3 2 3( 4 ) O p e n i n g N e w M a r k e t s a n d ( 5 ) P u b l i c i t y a n dS y m b o l i s m 3 2 9


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CHAPTER Page(6) Low Cos ts -- Co nt ra ct in g Risk 336(7) Co rpo ra te Image 338(8) St yli ng 339

1 2. THE INC ORP ORA TIO N OF HOT ROD DIN G: THE LATE1950s AND 1960s 357The Late 1950s 357The 1960 s 381Summary 396

P A R T I V . C O N C L U S I O N S13 . D I S C U S S I O N A N D C O N C L U S I O N S 4 0 9

The Res ults 411T h e I n d u s t r y ' s I n f l u e n c e on H o t R o d d i n g 4 1 3T h e A u t o m o b i l e I n d u s t r y a nd M e t a - P o w e r . . . . . . . 421T h e o r e ti c a l D i s c u s s io n . . . . 4 25

A P P E N D I XA r t i c l e s f r o m B u s i n e s s W e e k 4 2 9A r t i c l e s f r o m L i f e 4 3 0

R E F E R E N C E S 4 3 2


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T A B L E S A N D F I G U R E S

Tab le 2.1 Cha ra ct eri st ic s of Mode ls of theDis tri but ion of Power in Soc iet y 75

Tab le 2.2 Thre e Dim ens ion s of Power 80Figu re 3.1 Stru ctu re of Org ani zat ion al Sys tem IllFigu re 3.2 Facto rs in Res pon se to Env iro nme nta l

Change 124F i g u r e 8.1 D i a g r a m o f t h e P l u r a l i s t / F u n c t i o n a l i s t

V i e w o f A u t o m o b i l e S a l e s a nd D e v e l o p m e n tP r o c e s s O v e r T i m e : C o n s u m e r S o v e r e i g n t y . . 2 41F i g u r e 8 .2 D i a g r a m o f M e t a - P o w e r V i e w o f A u t o m o b i l eS a l e s a n d D e v e l o p m e n t P r o c e s s O v e r T i m eR e p r e s e n t i n g A d v e r t i s i n g a s a K ey

V a r i a b l e 2 5 0T a b l e 1 0. 1 F r e q u e n c y a nd E x h i b i t e d A t t i t u d e T o w a r dHot Ro ddi ng of Arti cl es in Li fe andB u s i n e s s W e e k M a g a z i n e s , 1 9 4 8 - 1 9 6 8 2 7 8


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A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

Wri tin g a di ss er ta ti on is nev er a so li tar y task --alt hou gh the aut hor is cer tai nly re sp on si bl e for any err ors ofomis sion or comis sion whic h occur in,the final pro du ct. Whilea c c e p t i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h is d i s s e r t a t i o n , t h i s a u t h o rwi sh es to ac kn ow le dg e his debt s and ex pr ess his deep ap pr e-cia tio n to thos e peo ple w h o , in one way or an ot he r, co ntr ibu tedto the dev el opm ent and com ple tio n of this pro je ct .

Of co ur se , those people who com pri se the di sse rta tio ncomm itt ee are majo r con tri but ors to any di ss er ta to r. My com-mit tee -- P rof ess ors Aust in T. Tu rk , Bernd Bal du s, and Rob ertMac Kay -- was a pri mar y so urc e of int ell ect ual gu id an ce , soundad vi ce , and solid su pp ort .

Per hap s my mo st impo rt ant debt is to my di ss er ta ti onad vi so r, my frie nd and me nt or , Aus tin Turk . It is fair to saythat wi tho ut his unwa veri ng enco ura gem ent and supp ort overthe y ea rs , this dis ser tat ion would never have been com ple ted .He li st en ed to me "di sc us s" far int o too ma ny nig ht s and readand co mme nt ed on wr itt en dr af ts , alw ays able to dis cer n thesolid ma tt er , clarif y the cloudy wat er , and dis card theim mat er ial . And when I failed to get gr ou nd ed , Pr ofe ssorTurk pat ien tly built con cre te shoes for me . His critical st yl e,r i g o r o u s , m e t h o d i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n , a nd d o w n - t o - t h e - b a s i c ssoc iol ogy have been a great influe nce on the h ig h- re vv in g,w h e e l s - o f f - t h e - g r o u n d m a c h i n e r y w h i c h I t r i e d t o d r i v e h e r e .

A seco nd imp ort an t int ell ect ual and moral de bt is owedto Pr of es so r Ber nd Ba ld us . His calm in the fac e of my cris es

v i i


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and his ab ili ty to redu ce "ma jor " fears into mi no r det ail s wasm o s t c o m f o r t i n g . M o r e o v e r , h is c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n o f p o w e r w a san im po rt an t sti mul us and in te gra ti ng dev ice in this stu dy.

Many peop le wi ll in gl y gave of the ir time and kn ow-ledge thr oug hou t my rese arch on this di ss er ta ti on . Nobo dycan do nay ser iou s res ear ch on the au to mo bi le in dus try wi th ou tthe ex pe rt and ge ne ro us hel p of Jam es J. Br ad le y and hisstaff at the Aut om oti ve Histo ry Collec tio n of the Det roi tPub lic Li br ar y. Inv al uab le also was the ac ces s and adv icepro vid ed by Henry E. Ed mu nd s, Di re cto r of the Ford A rc hi ve sof the He nry Ford Mu se um . Spe cia l than ks are due to Nanc yAs ke w, the lib rar ian at the Gener al Motor s Des ign Li br ar y,as well as to Cur t An to ni us and the st af f at the Gen era l Mo to rsRese arch Lib rar y. Other library staff pro vid ed ass ist anc e atW a y n e S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y , Q u e e n ' s U n i v e r s i t y ,the Uni ver sit y of Wi nd so r, Uni ver sit y of To ro nt o, and the NewYork Publi c Libra ry.

Perso nnel in the aut omo bil e industr y wer e also genero uswith their time and gen eral ly coope rat ive and i nfo rma tiv e.The sta ff of the pub lic rela ti ons de pa rt me nt s at the var iou sma nu fac tu re rs were helpful in gaini ng acces s to variousdep art men ts and person nel with in their res pec tiv e c orp ora tio ns-- esp ec ia ll y John Pic hur ski of Ame ri ca n Mot or s and Jame s Br adyof General Mo to rs . Many inte rvie ws and di scu ssi ons with v ario uspers ons were cond ucte d with the und ers tand ing th at anon ymit ywoul d be ass ure d. Ho we ve r, certa in people who wer e esp eci all yhelpf ul said they wou ld not mind men tio n he re . Tho se p eopl ewer e Tom Ch ri st ia ns on , Dir ect or of Styli ng at General Mo to rs ,


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D o n a l d P f e i f e r , A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r o f L a b o u r R e l a t i o n s a tG e n e r a l M o t o r s , a n d R i c h a r d T e a g u e , V i c e - p r e s i d e n t o f S t y l i n ga t A m e r i c a n M o t o r s .

In my tr av el s in and arou nd the wo rl d of hot ro dd in gI en cou nt er ed many peopl e who were willin g to share theirex per ie nce s and ob se rv at io ns . It is imp oss ibl e to name thema l l , but out sta ndi ng among them w e r e : Jeff and Diane B ur gy,John and Dian ne Gu ye r, Rod ger Hody ka , Bill La w, Jim Ma rt in ea u,T o m M c G r a t h , J i m M c K i m , K e it h P i n c h i n , S t e v e S c h a e f e r , S o n n yS l e e m a n , T e r r y T h o m p s o n , B r u c e W o o d . A l s o o u t s t a n d i n g w a sAl H a l l , the man agi ng edi tor of Hot Rod ma ga zi ne , who provi dedco pi es of ea rl y iss ue s of Ho t Ro d, as well as mu ch usef uli n f o r m a t i o n an d m a n y c o n t a c t s .

A nu mb er of pe op le hav e read all or pa rt of this d is -se rt at io n an d/ or di sc us sed it wil me ) oft en tim es at grea tl e n g t h ) . They have offe red impo rta nt i d e a s , c r i t i c i s m s ,and sug ges ti ons which I have always taken se ri ou sl y, butwhi ch I have not alw ays ta ken or fo llo wed in a ma nn er wit hwh ic h they wou ld agr ee . I wa nt to than k them a l l , and exp res sa special gra tit ude to Hans Ba kk er , Steve Ber ko wi tz , GusBr an ni ga n, Jill Co nw ay , Dale Da nn ef er , David Ni ec e, Joe andJudy Pi lo tt a, Bruc e Si nc la ir , and Bryan We st wo od . In trou bledtimes Susan Ba zi ll i, Ruth Ellen Gri me s, Mart ha Schm idt andJohn Woo dar d wer e true fri end s and their supp or t was esse ntialto me . Ma rt ha Sc hm id t sho uld be sin gle d out be ca us e herabi lit y to cla rif y iss ues and qu es ti on prem is es and her refusa lto acc ept amb igu ity often ext end ed my pos iti on and requi redme to be mu ch mor e ar ti cu la te tha n I had b ee n.


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Sha ron Hay typed the earl y vers ion s and the finaldraf t of this di ss er ta ti on . Her com mit men t to the projectand the ef fo rt she mad e on my behal f we nt far beyon d the callof dut y. Mir dza Troeme l and her sta ff typed the dra ft forthe sen ate oral under the awful pr ess ure of a fast ap pr oa chi ngdea dli ne. We all suffered the eff ects .

A lot of dif fic ult ies and dep res sio ns were enco unte redalong the way to comp leti ng this di sse rt at io n. But my moth erand st ep fa th er , Helen e and Fred Orl aw , never doubte d meand we re alw ays the re whe n I need ed them . And need them I did .Judy Listia k was a shinin g lig ht thr oug hou t this period whoref use d to be dimm ed by the pro ble ms we had . Her st ren gthand res ili enc e were respecte d sources of en co ura ge me nt for me .


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ABSTRACT


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COR POR ATE POWER AND THE MAR KET : AUT OM OTI VE PERF ORMA NCEAND THE AUT OMOB ILE INDUSTRY

byALAN LISTIAK

This dis ser ta tio n is an ex ami nat io n of the soci olo gica ldeb at e ove r the nat ur e of co rp or at e pow er and the ma rk et forcons umer goods in moder n socie ty. Two socio logic al theoretica lp o s i t i o n s , t h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t a nd th e e l i t e / c l a s s , a r ecom par ed and con tra ste d with res pec t to this is su e. They arethen cri tic all y tested by app lyi ng them to the aut omo bil e in-dust ry and the de ve lop me nt of the me ani ng s and physi cal shapeof the au to mo bi le , in pa rt ic ul ar , the cont rove rsia l mean ingsand desig ns assoc iated with those non -tr ans por tat ion themessubsum ed under the notion of "perf orm anc e".

In compa ring and cont rasti ng the pl ura li st/ fun ct ion al -ist and the eli te/ cla ss the ori es three basi c conc eptu al areasmus t be ex am in ed : (1) the natu re of powe r and its ex er ci se ;(2) the nat ure of cor por ate b eh av io ur ; and (3) the natu re ofthe ma rke t and con sum pti on in mod ern soc iet y. The pl ur al is t/fun cti ona lis t position depict s corp orat e power as well socia l-ized and exte rnal ly control led whereas the eli te/ cla ss positiondepic ts a corp orat e elite/ rul ing co rpor ate class able to con-trol the poli tica l arena and the ma rk et . Empi rica l rese archhas don e lit tl e to re so lv e this de ba te . It is su gg es te d thatpar t of this logg er he ad is due to the in ad eq ua te con ce pt io n ofpowe r whic h und erl ies these po si ti on s. This con cep tio n is in-

xi i


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XI 11

d i v i d u a l i s t i c a n d l i m i t e d in i t s s c o p e . T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l yp r o b l e m a t i c f o r t h e e l i t e / c l a s s p e r s p e c t i v e b e c a u s e m u c h o fw h a t it d e s c r i b e s a s c o r p o r a t e p o w e r i s n o t c o n s i s t e n t w i t ht h i s b a s i c c o n c e p t . A m o r e s o c i o l o g i c a l c o n c e p t i o n o f p o w e ri s p r o p o s e d to c o m p r e h e n d t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n b a s e d u p o n t h e w o r k so f S t e v e n L u k e s , T o m B a u m g a r t n e r e t a l . , a n d B e r n d B a l d u s .T e r m e d t h e m e t a - p o w e r v i e w i t c o n c e i v e s o f p o w e r as t h e e x e r -c i s e o f r e l a t i o n a l c o n t r o l , t h a t i s , t h e a b i l i t y t o s t r u c t u r es o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s in a n i n t e r a c t i o n s y s t e m b y m a n i p u l a t i n ga c t i o n p o s s i b i l i t i e s , r e w a r d s t r u c t u r e s , a n d o r i e n t a t i o n s . T h i s

c o n c e p t i o n is a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e c o l l e c t i v e a c t i o n s o f o r g a n i z a -t i o n s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s . A n u m b e r o f p o w e r s t r a t e g i e s a r e d i s -c u s s e d a n d s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n g i v e n to t h e s t r a t e g y o f t h e i n -c o r p o r a t i o n o f c o m p l e m e n t a r y b e h a v i o u r p a t t e r n s .

C o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r is c o n c e p t u a l i z e d i n t e r m s o f t h em o d e l of o r g a n i z a t i o n s in a c t i o n d e v e l o p e d by J a m e s T h o m p s o n .B o t h t h e o r e t i c a l p o s i t i o n s a r e a p p l i e d to t h i s m o d e l a n d t h er e s p e c t i v e v i e w s o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r in t h e m a r k e t d i s c u s s -e d . B o t h p o s i t i o n s a r e a l s o e x a m i n e d r e g a r d i n g t h e i r s i m i l a rv i e w s o f t h e m a r k e t as a m a j o r s o c i a l l o c a t i o n f o r t h e e x p r e s -s i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l f r e e d o m , c r e a t i v i t y , s t a t u s , e t c . T h e i rd i f f e r e n c e s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e r o l e o f c u l t u r e i n d e t e r m i n i n gh u m a n n e e d s a n d t h e i r e x p r e s s i o n , a n d t h e r o l e o f a d v e r t i s i n ga r e d i s c u s s e d .

T h e t w o p o s i t i o n s a r e a p p l i e d to t h e A m e r i c a n a u t o m o -b i l e i n d u s t r y a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e . H y p o t h e s -e s a r e d e r i v e d f r o m e a c h p r e d i c t i n g t h e n a t u r e o f t h e i n t e r -


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a c t i o n b e t w e e n a u t o m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a n d c o n s u m e r s w i t hr e s p e c t to t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f a u t o m o t i v e d e s i g n an d m e a n i n g .T h e s e w e r e t e s t e d u s i n g s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s . T h e m e t a - p p w e r v i e w w a ss u p p o r t e d . I t w a s f o u n d t h a t m a n u f a c t u r e r s e x e r c i s e d r e l a t i o n -al c o n t r o l o v e r t h e m a r k e t by s e l e c t i v e l y e m p h a s i z i n g a n d d e -v e l o p i n g a u t o m o t i v e d e s i g n s a n d m e a n i n g s w h i c h m e a s u r e d h i gh int h e d i m e n s i o n s of e x c l u s i v e n e s s , m a c h i s m o , s t y l i n g , e r g o n o m i c sa n d r e p u t a t i o n . O t h e r d i m e n s i o n s s u c h a s s a f e t y , t e c h n o l o g y ,e c o n o m y , f u n c t i o n a l i s m , a nd d u r a b i l i t y w e r e m e a s u r e d l o w in e m -p h a s i s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e d i m e n s i o n of m a c h i s m o w h i c h c o n -

t a i n s t h e t h e m e s o f p o w e r , p e r f o r m a n c e , s p e e d , m a s c u l i n i t y h a sp r o v e n t o b e a p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o b l e m a t i c a u t o m o t i v e d i m e n s i o n .T h e s e p e r f o r m a n c e t h e m e s h a v e b e e n t h e s u b j e c t o f i n c r e a s i n gp u b l i c c o n c e r n a n d c r i t i c i s m , p a r t i c u l a r l y s i n c e W o r l d W a r I I.P a r a l l e l w i t h t h i s c r i t i c i s m h a s d e v e l o p e d a s u b c u l t u r e k n o w nas hot ro dd in g wh ic h ut il iz es the au to mo bi le as a phy sic al ands y m b o l i c r e s o u r c e to e x p r e s s p e r f o r m a n c e an d m a c h i s m o v a l u e sa n d m o t i v e s , a s w e l l a s o t h e r s s u c h a s r e b e l l i o n , f r e e d o m , h e d -o n i s m , a n d a c t i o n - s e e k i n g . O r i g i n a l l y v i e w e d a s a d e v i a n t a ndd a n g e r o u s m i n o r i t y , b y t h e 1 9 6 0 s i t h a d a c h i e v e d a d e g r e e o fs o c i a l r e s p e c t a b i l i t y as a c o m m e r i c a l s p o r t . T o e x p l a i n t h em a c h i s m o a n d p e r f o r m a n c e c o n t e n t o f A m e r i c a n a u t o m o t i v e d e s i g n ,s e v e r a l h y p o t h e s e s w e r e d e r i v e d f r o m e a c h t h e o r e t i c a l p o s i t i o nr e g a r d i n g t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e a u t o m a n -u f a c t u r e r s a n d h o t r o d d e r s . T h e y w e r e t e s t e d b y a s s e s s i n g t h ea t t i t u d e s o f t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a n d t h e p u b l i c t o w a r d h o t r o d -d i n g t h r o u g h a c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s a n d a h i s t o r i c a l a n a l y s i s o f


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t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p in q u e s t i o n o v e r t h e p o s t w a r p e r i o d t o 1 9 6 8 .I t w a s f o u n d t h a t h o t r o d d i n g f u n c t i o n e d a s a c o m p l e m e n t a r yb e h a v i o u r p a t t e r n w h i c h w a s s e l e c t i v e l y i n c o r p o r a t e d a n d s u p -p o r t e d b y t h e i n d u s t r y . T h i s i n c o r p o r a t i o n w a s b a s e d u p o n c e r -t a i n s t r u c t u r a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s an d p r i o r i t i e s o f t h e m a n u f a c t -u r e r s i n t h e i r e f f o r t s t o r e d u c e d e m a n d u n c e r t a i n t y f o r t h e i rp r o d u c t s . In t h e 1 9 5 0 s h o t r o d s y m b o l i s m w a s i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t od e s i g n an d a d v e r t i s i n g a i m e d at m i d d l e c l a s s c o n s u m e r s b y f r a m -i n g i t i n a c o n t e x t o f c o m f o r t a n d c o n t r o l l e d e x p r e s s i o n . Int h e 1 9 6 0 s s u c h s y m b o l i s m w a s n o l o n g e r c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n t h em i d d l e c l a s s c o n t e x t b u t s t o o d on i t s o w n . H o t r o d r a c e s w e r eu s e d t o l e g i t i m i z e h o r s e p o w e r i n c r e a s e s an d t o " p r o x y " d u r a b i l -i t y a n d p r o g r e s s . H o t r o d d i n g w a s a l s o v i e w e d as a m e a n s o ft a p p i n g t he y o u t h m a r k e t . I t w a s s u p p o r t e d d i r e c t l y a n d i n d i r -e c t l y b y t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s . W i t h o u t t h i s s u p-p o r t a n d w i t h o u t t h e i n c r e a s i n g l y p o w e r f u l a u t o m o b i l e s p r o v i d -e d b y t h e i n d u s t r y , h o t r o d d i n g w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e di n t o t h e m a r k e t o r t h e s p e c t a c u l a r s p o r t i t h a s . T h e p e r f o r -m a n c e m a r k e t o f t h e 1 9 6 0 s i s t h u s a s t r u c t u r e d o u t c o m e o f t h ei n d u s t r y ' s a c t i o n s i n t h e 1 9 5 0 s t o d e v e l o p a n d i n c o r p o r a t e h o tr o d d i n g .

T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n s h o w s t h e u t i l i t y of t h e c o n c e p t i o no f p o w e r in t e r m s o f m e t a - p o w e r a nd r e l a t i o n a l c o n t r o l . T h ee m p h a s i s o n s t r u c t u r a l v a r i a b l e s an d i n t e r a c t i o n s y s t e m s p r o -v i d e s a s o c i o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n t o p o w e r t h a t is m i s s i n g i nt h e p r e d o m i n a n t a p p r o a c h e s t o p o w e r . A s s u c h i t i s a b l e t oc o m p r e h e n d s i t u a t i o n s as i n v o l v i n g t h e e x e r c i s e o f p o w e r w h i c h


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XVI

would not be con sid ere d as such by the trad iti ona l app roa ch.This en abl es the terms of re fe re nc e to be ex pa nd ed and a mor ea d e q u a t e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f s o c i al r e a l i t y t o b e c o m p r e h e n d e din s o c i o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s .


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PART IINTRODUCTION


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C H A P T E R IS T A T E M E N T O F T H E P R O B L E M

Si nc e the end of the sec on d wo rl d w arthe co rp or at e form has eme rged as thec h a r a c t e r i s t i c i n s t i t u t i o n o f A m e r i c a ns o c i e t y . I t s r i s e h a s r e n d e r e d i r r e l e v a n tt i m e - h o n o r e d t h e o r i e s o f p o l i t i c s a n de c o n o m i c s , a n d i ts e x p l o s i v e g r o w t h h a sc r e a t e d n e w b r e e d s o f m e n w h o s e b e h a v i o u rcan no lon ger be ac co un te d for by co n-v e n t i o n a l r u l e s o f c o n d u c t ( H a c k e r , 1 9 6 4 a : 1 ) .

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o r p o r a t e f o r m a s t h e d o m i n a n tt y p e o f b u s i n e s s o r g a n i z a t i o n in m o d e r n s o c i e t y h as r e s u l t e din a n i n c r e a s i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f e c o n o m i c r e s o u r c e s i n t h ehand s of the rel ati vel y few per son s who head the ma jo r co rp or a-t i o n s . T h i s c o n c e n t r a t i o n h a s a r o u s e d c o n s i d e r a b l e c o n c e r na m o n g s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s a b o u t t h e e f f e c t s of s u c h c o n c e n t r a t i o nand the base of pow er it pr ov id es . Much at te nt io n has beengiven to the interna l wo rki ng of co rp or at io ns in such area s ast h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f c o r p o r a t e b u r e a u c r a t i c s t r u c t u r e s a ndt h e q u a l i t y o f w o r k e x p e r i e n c e w i t h i n t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s . B u tt h e c e n t r a l s o c i o l o g i c a l c o n c e r n w i t h c o r p o r a t e p o w e r p e r s eh a s b e e n o n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n c o r p o r a t i o n s a n d t h e i rs o c i a l a nd p o l i t i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t s . T h e q u e s t i o n m o s t f r e q u e n t -ly asked is wh et he r the pow er cente red in co rp or at io ns is ex-e r c i s e d in a r e s p o n s i b l e m a n n e r w h i c h is a c c o u n t a b l e t o t h ec o m m u n i t y . M o s t d i s c u s s i o n a n d r e s e a r c h o n t h i s q u e s t i o n h a sdea lt wit h the issue s of the di st ri bu ti on of powe r in soc ie ty ,t h e s u p p o s e d t r a n s i t i o n in c o r p o r a t e c o n t r o l f r o m o w n e r s h i p t os a l a r i e d m a n a g e r , a n d t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f e x t e r n a l c o n s t r a i n t s

2


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o n c o r p o r a t e a c t i o n s .In s o c i o l o g i c a l d i s c u s s i o n s , t h e s e i s- su es h a v e t e n d e d

t o s p l i t b e t w e e n t h e t w o m a j o r t h e o r e t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s , t a k i n gt h e f o r m o f a d e b a t e b e t w e e n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l p l u r a l i s t a n ds t r u c t u r a l - f u n c t i o n a l i s t o r i e n t a t i o n a nd t h e c o n f l i c t / M a r x i s to r i e n t a t i o n . P l u r a l i s t s a n d f u n c t i o n a l i s t s s e e t h e e x e r c i s eo f c o r p o r a t e p o w e r a s b a s i c a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e t o t h e c o m m u n i t yand in ha rm on y wi th its va lu es and in te r es ts . Wh en and if tha tp o w e r i s n o t u s e d e f f e c t i v e l y a n d e f f i c i e n t l y t o a c h i e v e t h o s ev a l u e s a n d i n t e r e s t s , i s u s e d to a c h i e v e i n t e r e s t s n o t i n t h ep u b l i c g o o d , t h e n t h e c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h p o l i t i c a l a n d l e g a lm e a n s a n d t h r o u g h t h e m a r k e t i s a b l e to c o n s t r a i n a n d c o n t r o lt h o s e a c t i o n s a n d b r i n g t h e m i n t o l i n e . C o n f l i c t t h e o r i s t sa n d M a r x i s t s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , h a v e a r g u e d t h a t t h e r e l a t i v e -l y f e w p e r s o n s w h o c o n t r o l t h e c o r p o r a t i o n s a r e a b l e to p u r s u et h e i r p a r t i c u l a r , l i m i t e d i n t e r e s t s w i t h l i t t l e r e g a r d f o rp u b l i c g o a l s a nd w e l f a r e , a n d t o r e s i s t , n e u t r a l i z e , a n d e v e nd i r e c t t h e p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s in i t s e f f o r t s at r e g u l a t i o n .

A f u r t h e r i s s u e , m u c h d e b a t e d b u t l i t t l e r e s e a r c h e d b ys o c i o l o g i s t s , is w h e t h e r o r n o t c o r p o r a t e b u s i n e s s e n t e r p r i s e sm a n i p u l a t e c o n s u m e r d e m a n d a n d c o n t r o l t h e m a r k e t f o r t h e i rp r o d u c t s . It is this is su e wh ic h is the su bj ec t of this d is -s e r t a t i o n . O f c o u r s e , t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h i si s s u e i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y t h e b a s i c t h e o r e t i c a l d i s a g r e e m e n tn o t e d a b o v e . T h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t p o s i t i o n a r g u e st h a t c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r in t h e m a r k e t is l i m i t e d a nd in f a c tc o n t r o l l e d b y c o n s u m e r s . C o n s u m e r s d e t e r m i n e t h e i r n e e d s f o rp a r t i c u l a r g o o d s a n d s e r v i c e s a n d e x p r e s s t h e s e n e e d s as


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v a r i o u s d e m a n d s in t h e m a r k e t . C o r p o r a t e p r o d u c e r s c a n o n l yr e s p o n d to t h e s e d e m a n d s b y c o m p e t i n g t o s u p p l y t h e g o o d s a n ds e r v i c e s w h i c h w i l l s a t i s f y t h e m . T h e c o n f l i c t a n d M a r x i s tp o s i t i o n ( w h i c h w i l l b e r e f e r r e d t o a s t h e e l i t e / c l a s s p o s i -t i o n ) a r g u e s t h a t c o r p o r a t i o n s a r e a b l e to s u b v e r t t h i s c o n -s u m e r s o v e r e i g n t y b y l e s s e n i n g c o m p e t i t i o n a n d m a n i p u l a t i n gd e m a n d t o t h e i r a d v a n t a g e w i t h l i t t l e r e g a r d f o r s o c i a l b e n e -f i t s . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t r o n g e s t s t a t e m e n t o f t h i s p o s i t i o n ,c o r p o r a t e d o m i n a t i o n a n d c o n t r o l o f t h e m a r k e t i s v i r t u a l l yc o m p l e t e : c o n s u m e r s a r e t o l d w h a t t o c o n s u m e , w h e n , h o w , a n da t w h a t p r i c e . T h e y a r e g i v e n s h o d d y a n d i n e f f i c i e n t g o o d so n t o p o f i t . F r o m t h i s p o i n t o f v i e w c o r p o r a t i o n s a r e i n s t r u -m e n t s u s e d b y a p o w e r f u l e l i t e o r a c a p i t a l i s t r u l i n g c l a s st o d o m i n a t e an d c o n t r o l s o c i e t y in i t s o w n i n t e r e s t s .

T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n w i l l e x a m i n e b o t h o f t h e s e p o s i t i o n sa n d t h e i r c o n c e p t u a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f t h e n a t u r e o f p o w e r ,t h e n a t u r e o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r , a n d t h e n a t u r e of t h e m a r k e ta n d c o n s u m p t i o n . I n t h e p r o c e s s , a c o n c e p t i o n o f p o w e r w i l lb e p r o p o s e d w h i c h i s m o r e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e d e s c r i p t i o n p r e -s e n t e d b y t h e e l i t e / c l a s s p o s i t i o n . T h i s c o n c e p t i o n w i l l b et e r m e d t h e m e t a - p o w e r v i e w . A m o r e a d e q u a t e c o n c e p t i o n o fc o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d , a n d t h e s y m b o l i c n a t u r eo f t h e m a r k e t e x p l o r e d . T h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t t h e o r yw i l l b e c r i t i c a l l y t e s t e d a g a i n s t t h e e l i t e / c l a s s p o s i t i o ns u p p l e m e n t e d b y t h e m e t a - p o w e r v i e w . T h i s t e s t w i l l c o n s i s tof the ap p li c at io n of the two th eo ri es to a ca se st ud y of them a r k e t f o r a u t o m o b i l e s a n d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n t h e a u t o -m o b i l e i n d u s t r y a n d c o n s u m e r s . T h e r e i s l i t t l e n e e d t o d o c u -


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me nt the im po rt an ce of the au to mo bi le and its in du st ry to the 1e c o n o m i c , p o l i t i c a l a n d s o c i a l l i f e o f N o r t h A m e r i c a n s o c i e t y .T h e a u t o m o b i l e is t h e s e c o n d l a r g e s t s i n g l e p u r c h a s e , n e x t toh o u s i n g , t h a t m o s t p e r s o n s e v e r m a k e . I t i s a p r o d u c t t h a tp r o v i d e s m a n y c o n s u m e r b e n e f i t s an d s a t i s f a c t i o n s , b u t i t isa l s o i n v o l v e d in n u m e r o u s p h y s i c a l a n d s o c i a l n e g a t i v e s ( s u c has a c c i d e n t s , p o l l u t i o n , c o n g e s t i o n , e t c . ) . T h e a u t o m o b i l ei n d u s t r y is o f t e n v i e w e d a s t h e m o d e l o f c o r p o r a t e o r g a n i z a t i o na n d o p e r a t i o n . G a l b r a i t h b a s e d h i s a n a l y s i s o f T h e N e wI n d u s t r i a l S t a t e u p o n i t . G e n e r a l M o t o r s i n p a r t i c u l a r o f t e ni s c i t e d a s t h e m o d e l o f a d e c e n t r a l i z e d c o r p o r a t e s t r u c t u r ew h i c h is e f f i c i e n t a n d e f f e c t i v e ( P e r r o w , 1 9 7 2 ) . The FordM o t o r C o m p a n y w a s s p e c i f i c a l l y p a t t e r n e d a f t e r G M w h e n H e n r yFo rd II to ok it ov er at th e end of Wo rl d Wa r I I .

Th e fo cu s of thi s te st wil l be the so ci al p ro ce ss byw h i c h t h e a u t o m o b i l e i s c o n s t i t u t e d a s a c u l t u r a l a n d p h y s i c a lf o r m , t h a t i s , t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h t h e a u t o m o b i l e c o m e s t oh a v e t h e p a r t i c u l a r m e a n i n g s a n d p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s i th a s a t a n y g i v e n t i m e . O n e s i g n i f i c a n t a s p e c t o f t h i s " c o n t e n t "will be se le ct ed f or an al ys is as a fu rt he r test of the two p o s i -t i o n s . T h i s a s p e c t is t h e m e a n i n g s an d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s s o c i -a t e d w i t h t h e m e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e , p o w e r , s p e e d , a n d m a c h i s m o .T h e s e t h e m e s a s u s e d i n p r o m o t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s a n d t h e i r a u t o -m o t i v e e m b o d i m e n t h a v e b e e n t h e s u b j e c t o f a l o n g s t a n d i n gp u b l i c i s s u e . T h e A m e r i c a n a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y ha s b e e n c r i -t i c i z e d an d e v e n i n v e s t i g a t e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t as t o t h e i rp r o m o t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . A s s u c h , t h i s c a s e s t u d y w i l l p r o -vid e a good tes t site in wh ic h to ex am in e the re la ti on sh ip s


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b e t w e e n c o r p o r a t i o n s , m a r k e t s , a nd s o c i e t y a s p o s t u l a t e d b yt h e t w o t h e o r e t i c a l p o s i t i o n s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e . I t w i l l f o l l o wt h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f p e r f o r m a n c e a s a m a j o r a u t o m o t i v e t h e m efr om the end of Wo rl d War II to its pe ak in the la te 1 9 60 s.

T h e o r e t i c a l D e v e l o p m e n tT h e t h e o r e t i c a l d e b a t e o v e r t h e n a t u r e an d e f f e c t i v e -

n e s s o f c o r p o r a t e p o w e r h a s g e n e r a t e d a l o n g t r a d i t i o n , o fd i s c u s s i o n , r e s e a r c h a n d c r i t i c i s m . T h e t w o p o s i t i o n s a r el i t t l e c l o s e r t o s o m e f o r m o f r e s o l u t i o n a t p r e s e n t t h a n t h e yw e r e f o r t y y e a r s a g o . I t i s o b v i o u s t h a t i d e o l o g i c a l p r e d i s -p o s i t i o n s h a v e a f f e c t e d t h e o u t c o m e s a n d p e r c e p t i o n s o f r e -s e a r c h d a t a i n s u b t l e w a y s . Y e t , f r o m a s c i e n t i f i c p o i n t o fv i e w , t h e d e b a t e s h o u l d be r e s o l v a b l e w i t h t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o fa d e q u a t e e v i d e n c e . T h e g a t h e r i n g o f s u c h e v i d e n c e is d e p e n d -e n t u p o n t h e d i r e c t i o n s a n d g u i d a n c e p r o v i d e d by t h e c o n c e p -t u al f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e t h e o r i e s -- p r o b l e m s o f o p e r a t i o n a l i z a -t i o n n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g . I t is s u g g e s t e d t h a t c o n c e p t u a l d i f f i -c u l t i e s h a v e p r e v e n t e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a m o r e p r o f o u n dd i a l o g u e i n t h i s m a t t e r . In c o m p a r i n g a n d c o n s t r a s t i n g t h e s et w o v i e w s o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r in t h e m a r k e t , t h r e e b a s i cc o n c e p t u a l a r e a s m u s t b e e x a m i n e d : ( 1 ) t h e n a t u r e o f p o w e ra n d it s e x e r c i s e ; ( 2) t h e n a t u r e o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r ; a nd

( 3 ) t h e n a t u r e o f t h e m a r k e t a n d c o n s u m p t i o n i n m o d e r n s o c i e t y .W i t h r e s p e c t t ee th e f i r s t t w o a r e a s , p o w e r a n d c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r ,i t is a r g u e d t h a t t h e y h a v e b e e n c o n c e p t u a l i z e d i n t e r m s t h a ta r e n o t s o c i o l o g i c a l e n o u g h . T h e y h a v e b e e n c o n c e p t u a l i z e din ter ms of the in div id ual level of an al ys is and tr ea te d as


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v a r i a b l e s w h i c h o p e r a t e in r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n i n d i v i d u a l s .In the case of p o w e r , wh at is not co ns id er ed is the s oci ala n d c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t w i t h i n w h i c h t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s t a k ep l a c e . In t h e c a s e o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r , w h a t i s n o t c o n s i d -e r e d is t h e c o n t e x t o f c o r p o r a t e s t r u c t u r e w i t h i n w h i c h c o r -p o r a t e d e c i s i o n s a n d a c t i o n s a r e m a d e . T h e s e t w o a s p e c t s w i l lb e c o n s i d e r e d i m m e d i a t e l y . T h e t h i r d c o n c e p t u a l a r e a , t h em a r k e t a n d c o n s u m p t i o n , w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d t h e r e a f t e r .

O n e o f t h e b a s i c t e n e t s o f t h e s o c i a l s c i e n t i f i ca p p r o a c h t o s o c i a l p o w e r i s t h a t i t i s a r e l a t i o n a l p h e n o m e n o nw h i c h c a n e x i s t o n l y i n a p l u r a l s e t t i n g w h e r e t w o o r m o r ep e o p l e i n t e r a c t w i t h e a c h o t h e r . M a n y c o n c e p t i o n s a n d m o d e l so f p o w e r r e l a t i o n s h a v e b e e n d e v i s e d -- a s w e l l a s m e t h o d s o fm e a s u r e m e n t . T h e l i t e r a t u r e i s v a s t . B u t in d i s c u s s i o n s o fc o r p o r a t e p o w e r o n e p a r t i c u l a r c o n c e p t i o n h a s p r o v i d e d t h eb a s e f o r m o s t a n a l y s e s . T h i s b a s i c c o n c e p t i o n i s a l o n g s t a n d -i n g o n e w h i c h h a s e n t e r e d i n t o s o c i o l o g i c a l p r e d o m i n a n c et h r o u g h M a x W e b e r a nd R o b e r t D a h l . F o r W e b e r , p o w e r is v i e w e di n t e r m s o f o n e p e r s o n d o m i n a t i n g a n o t h e r : p o w e r i s d e f i n e das "the ch an ce of a man or of a nu mb er of me n to re al iz e th ei ro w n w i l l i n a c o m m u n a l a c t i o n e v e n a g a i n s t t h e r e s i s t a n c e o fo t h e r s w h o a r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e a c t i o n " ( W e b e r in G e r t ha n d M i l l s , 1 9 4 6 : 1 8 0 ) . D a h l ' s d e f i n i t i o n d i f f e r s o n l y w i t h r e -s p e c t t o p o w e r a s " c h a n c e " o r p o t e n t i a l . H e a r g u e s t h a t s u c hp o t e n t i a l c a n n o t b e m e a s u r e d -- o n l y a c t u a l b e h a v i o u r c a n b em e a s u r e d a n d t h u s p o w e r is t h e a c t u a l r e a l i z a t i o n o f a p e r s o n ' sw i l l o v e r a n o t h e r ' s r e s i s t a n c e . B o t h o f t h e s e d e f i n i t i o n s a r ep h r a s e d i n t e r m s o f i n d i v i d u a l a c t i o n a n d i n t e r a c t i o n . R e s i s t -


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8

a n c e i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n c l u d e d a s a c r i t e r i o n f o r t h e e x e r c i s eo f p o w e r w h i l e e x c l u d i n g , e s p e c i a l l y i n D a h l ' s ( 1 9 6 8 : 4 0 7 )f o r m u l a t i o n , " r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n a n i m a t e o r e v e n n o n - h u m a no b j e c t s " . T h u s r e l a t i o n s h i p s w h i c h a r e n o n - i n t e r a c t i v e a n d /o r r e s i s t a n c e f r e e a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d a s p o s s i b l e p o w e r r e l a -t i o n s h i p s . A n d t h e i m p a c t o f s t r u c t u r a l a n d c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e sis a l s o e l i m i n a t e d f r o m c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

H o w e v e r , a n u m b e r o f a n a l y s e s o f c o r p o r a t e p o w e r ,e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e f r o m a n e l i t e / c l a s s p e r s p e c t i v e , c o n s i d e r i nt h e i r d e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s e s s o m e a s p e c t s o f t h e s e l a t t e r d i m e n -s i o n s -- e v e n w h i l e p a y i n g l i p - s e r v i c e to t h e W e b e r - D a h l c o n -c e p t i o n ( i f t h e y r e f e r t o a c o n c e p t i o n a t a l l ) . T h i s is n o ta p r o d u c t i v e s i t u a t i o n . T h i s d i s c u s s i o n w i l l b u i l d u p o n t h e s ed e s c r i p t i v e a n a l y s e s . T h e w o r k o f S t e v e n L u k e s , T o m B a u m g a r t n e r ,et a! ., and Be rnd Bal du s will be ut il iz ed to de ve lo p a co nc ep -t i o n o f p o w e r a d e q u a t e t o t h e s e d e s c r i p t i o n s w h i c h c a n b e t e s t -e d a g a i n s t t h e p r e d o m i n a n t v e r s i o n . T e r m e d t h e m e t a - p o w e r v i e w ,i t i s a s o c i o l o g i c a l c o n c e p t w h i c h d e f i n e s p o w e r a s t h e e x e r c i s eo f r e ! a t i o n a l . c o n t r o l , t h a t i s , t h e a b i l i t y t o s t r u c t u r e s o c i a lr e l a t i o n s h i p s in a n i n t e r a c t i o n s y s t e m b y m a n i p u l a t i n g a c t i o np o s s i b i l i t i e s , r e w a rd s t r u c t u r e s , a nd o r i e n t a t i o n s . T h i s c o n -c e p t i o n is a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e c o l l e c t i v e a c t i o n s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n sa n d i n s t i t u t i o n s . A n u m b e r o f p o w e r s t r a t e g i e s w i l l b e d i s -c u s s e d w i t h s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n g i v e n t o t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n i n t oc o r p o r a t e a c t i o n o f b e h a v i o u r a nd s y m b o l i s m i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n tusef ul in som e wa y to co rp or at e goa ls (te rm ed by Ba ld us com-p i e m e n t a r y b e h a v i o u r p a t t e r n s ) .


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Thi s bas ic co nc ep ti on will be de ve lo pe d by an ex pl ic a-tion of the li te ra tu re on org an iz at ion al the ory in ord er tofor mul ate a model of org ani zat ion al beh avi our whic h can com-pre hen d the types of co rp or at e acti on unde r sc ru ti ny h ere .With a few ex ce pt io ns , pow er as a str uct ura l va ri abl e has notbee n st ud ie d in the li te ra tu re on or ga ni za ti on s -- in factuntil f ai rl y rec en tl y po we r in any form wa s not a top ic ofgr ea t co nc er n in this bod y of wo rk . And wh at co nc er n t her ehas been has foc use d ma in ly on power re la ti on sh ip s inter nalto or ga ni za ti on s. This is con sis ten t with the pred omi na ntfocu s on the inter nal dy na mi cs of or ga ni za ti on s and the rela-tive lack of att ent ion to the rel ati ons hip bet wee n org ani za-tions and their en vi ro nm en ts . When this rel at ion sh ip has beenco ns id er ed , the en vi ro nm en t has been view ed as the locus ofva lu es , po we r, and contr ol in whi ch or ga ni za ti on s exis t in arela tion of dep end enc e and ad apt ati on . This is cor rel ate dwit h the ma jo r res ear ch sites uti liz ed in this lite ra tu re --m a i n l y r e l a t i v e l y t r i v i a l , i n c o n s e q u e n t i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s r a t h e rthan large scale cor por ate busi ness en te rp ri se s. Charl esPerrow has argued this case and has suggested that the organi-za ti on -e nv ir on me nt rel ati ons hip as passi ve and ada pti ve is inneed of re co nc ep tu al iz at io n when the focu s is on these im por t-ant but so cio lo gic al ly neg lect ed cor pora te en te rp ri se s. It isthe en vi ro nm en t whi ch oft en has to ada pt to the se or ga ni za ti on sand their act io ns .

It is pr ec is el y beca us e the do mi na nt or -gan iza tio ns or ins tit utio ns of our so cietyhave not exp eri enc ed goal di sp la ce me nt and


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h a v e b e e n a b l e t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e o nt h e i r o w n t e r m s , t o c r e a t e t h e e n v i r o n -m e n t s t h e y d e s i r e , s h a p e t he e x i s t i n go n e s , a n d d e f i n e w h i c h s e c t i o n s o f i tt h e y w i l l d e a l w i t h , t h a t t h e f a i l u r et o l i n k o r g a n i z a t i o n s s u c h a s t h e s ewit h so ci et y is so al ar mi ng . It isf r o m t h e m u c k r a k e r s , j o u r n a l i s t s , c o n -g r e s s i o n a l c o m m i t t e e s , h i s t o r i a n s , a n d ,o c c a s i o n a l l y , t h e e c o n o m i s t s an d p o l i t i c a ls c i e n t i s t s t h a t w e l e a r n a b o u t t h e w a y sin w h i c h o r g a n i z a t i o n s s h a p e o u r e n v i r -o n m e n t , n o t , i r o n i c a l l y , f r o m t h e o r g a n i -z a t i o n a l s o c i o l o g i s t s . T h e W C T U m a yd r i f t , b u t G e n e r a l M o t o r s d o e s n o t( P e r r o w , 1 9 7 2 : 2 0 1 ) .

It is the int en ti on of this stud y to co nt ri bu te to thec l o s i n g of t h a t g a p i n s o c i o l o g i c a l k n o w l e d g e n o t e d a b o v e b yPe rr ow . It is ar gu ed tha t the lack of a mo re use ful di al og uein the ma tt er of co rp or at e po we r is als o due to the lack of ana d e q u a t e d e s c r i p t i o n a n d c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h ec o r p o r a t i o n a n d i ts o p e r a t i o n i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e . T h e q u o t a t i o nb y A n d r e w H a c k e r w h i c h o p e n s t h i s c h a p t e r i s i n d i c a t i v e o f t h i sl a c k . H a c k e r ( 1 9 6 4 a , 1 9 6 4 c , 1 9 7 0 , 1 9 7 3 ) a n d s e v e r a l o t h e r s( e g . , G a l b r a i t h , 1 9 6 7 ; S t o n e , 1 9 7 5 ; N a d e r a n d G r e e n , 1 9 7 3 )a r g u e t h a t t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f l a r g e b u s i n e s s c o r p o r a t i o n s h a sc r e a t e d s o c i o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h h a v e n o t b e e n g i v e na d e q u a t e a t t e n t i o n b y a n a l y s t s . T h e s e c o n d i t i o n s a r e t h e c o r -p o r a t e s t r u c t u r e s t h e m s e l v e s a n d t h e m a n n e r in w h i c h t h e y d e -t e r m i n e t he i n t e r e s t s a nd a c t i o n s o f t h e p e o p l e w h o s u p p o s e d l y" o p e r a t e " t h e m , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e m o t i v e s a nd i n t e r e s t s o ft h o s e p e r s o n s a s i n d i v i d u a l s . F r o m t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e c o r p o r a -t i o n s a r e s o c i a l e n t i t i e s w h i c h m u s t b e a n a l y z e d a t a l e v e lw h i c h c o n c e i v e s o f t h e m n o t a s a n a g g r e g a t e o f p e o p l e w h o a c ti n s u c h a w a y a s t o r e a l i z e t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r p u r p o s e s a n d


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g o a l s , b u t r a t h e r as a c t o r s i n t h e m s e l v e s w i t h i n t e r e s t s a n dg o a l s , i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h o s e w h o s t a f f t h e m , w h i c h d e t e r m i n et h e a c t i o n s o f t h o s e p e o p l e w i t h i n t h e m . C h r i s t o p h e r S t o n ein his book Where the Law E n d s ; T h e S o c i a l C o n t r o l of C o r p o r a t eB e h a v i o u r d e s c r i b e s t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e f o l l o w i n g m a n n e r :

In t h i s s e t t i n g e a c h m a n ' s o w n w a n t s ,ide as -- even his pe rc ep ti on s and em ot io ns ares w a y e d an d d i r e c t e d b y a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r es o p e r v a s i v e t h a t it m i g h t b e c o n s t r u e d a s h a v i n ga set of goa ls and con st ra in ts (if not a mind andp u r p o s e ) o f i t s o w n . T h i s is n o t , o f c o u r s e , t os a y t h a t t h e l a r g e b u s i n e s s o r g a n i z a t i o n s i s j u s tl i k e a n o r d i n a r y p e r s o n , a " b o s s " . B u t t h e r e isn o r e a s o n t o s u p p o s e t h a t t h e m o t i v e s o f a c o r p o r a -ti on , the wa y it will r esp on d and ad ap t to ex ter nalt h r e a t s , the way it will sca n its en vi ro nm en t fori n f o r m a t i o n , t h e w a y i t w i l l c a l c u l a t e a n d w e i g hits pl ea su re s ag ai ns t its pai ns -- in su m, itsde ci si on s and the wa y it ar ri ve s at the m -- willc o i n c i d e w i t h t h o s e of a n y o n e p e r s o n w i t h i n i t ,n o t e v e n n e c e s s a r i l y t h o s e o f t h e p r e s i d e n t . N o rs h o u l d w e w i t h a n y c o n f i d e n c e p r e s u m e t o t r e a t i t sd e c i s i o n p r o c e s s e s a s t h o u g h t h e c o r p o r a t i o n w e r eme re ly the ag gr eg at e sum of all the pe rs on s wh oa r e l a b o r i n g w i t h i n i t ( S t o n e , 1 9 7 5 : 7 ) .T h i s e m p h a s i s o n c o r p o r a t i o n s a s a c t o r s , t h e n e c e s s i t y

o f a n a l y z i n g t h e m a t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l e v e l , a n d c o n s i d e r i n gt h e i r s t r u c t u r a l d i m e n s i o n s h a s r e c e i v e d i n c r e a s e d a t t e n t i o nr e c e n t l y b ut r e m a i n s t h e o r e t i c a l l y u n d e v e l o p e d a nd l a c k i n g i ns o l i d e m p i r i c a l r e s e a r c h . T h e r e h a s b e e n d i s c u s s i o n o n t h en a t u r e o f c o r p o r a t e i n t e r e s t s , c o r p o r a t e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , a r e a si n w h i c h c o r p o r a t i o n s a r e r e l a t i v e l y f r e e t o p u r s u e t h e i r i n -t e r e s t s w i t h o u t i n t e r f e r e n c e , w a y s c o r p o r a t i o n s a c t t o m a i n -t a i n / i n c r e a s e t h e i r p o w e r , t h e s o c i a l e f f e c t s of c o r p o r a t ea c t i o n , a n d w a y s o f c o n t r o l l i n g t h a t a c t i o n . B u t t h e s e d i s c u s -s i o n s a r e h a m p e r e d i n t h e i r a n a l y t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t by t h e u n e x -a m i n e d l i m i t s i m p o s e d u p o n t h e m b y t h e o p e r a t i o n a l a c c e p t a n c e


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i n m o s t o f t h e m o f t h e p r e d o m i n a n t c o n c e p t i o n o f p o w e r w h i c h ,i t i s a r g u e d , i s i n a d e q u a t e t o t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l e v e l o fa n a l y s i s . I t i s u n a b l e e i t h e r t o i n t e g r a t e t h e r a n g e o fc o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r s r a i s e d f or s c r u t i n y or t o a l l o w c o n s i d e r a -t i o n o f o t h e r i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t s o f c o r p o r a t e b e h a v i o u r . T h em e t a - p o w e r v i e w t o b e d e v e l o p e d h e r e i n i n c l u d e s a s t r u c t u r a ld i m e n s i o n a nd c a n c o m p r e h e n d t h e i n t e r a c t i o n of c o r p o r a t es t r u c t u r e a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g c o l l e c t i v ea c t i v i t y . T h i s v i e w o f c o r p o r a t i o n s a s a c t i v e a g e n t s w i l l b ef o r m u l a t e d o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e w o r k o f J a m e s T h o m p s o n a n d J o h nK e n n e t h G a l b r a i t h . C o r p o r a t e a c t i o n s w i l l b e c o n c e p t u a l i z e di n t e r m s o f s t r a t e g i e s d e s i g n e d t o r e d u c e u n c e r t a i n t i e s a n dr i s k s in t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . P a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n w i l l b e g i v e nt o c o r p o r a t e s t r a t e g i e s to r e d u c e m a r k e t u n c e r t a i n t y , e s p e c i a l -l y t h e m a n n e r in w h i c h c e r t a i n b e h a v i o u r s a n d s y m b o l s in t h ee n v i r o n m e n t ( c o m p l e m e n t a r y b e h a v i o u r p a t t e r n s ) a r e u t i l i z e d o ri n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e g o a l - d i r e c t e d a c t i o n o f c o r p o r a t i o n s .B o t h t h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t an d t h e e l i t e / c l a s s ( s u p p l e -m e n t e d b y t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f m e t a - p o w e r ) f r a m e w o r k s w i l l b ea p p l i e d t o t h i s a n a l y s i s o f c o r p o r a t e a c t i o n .

T h e t h i r d c o n c e p t u a l a r e a n o t e d a b o v e i s t h e n a t u r e o ft h e m a r k e t a n d c o n s u m p t i o n . T h i s r e l a t e s t o t h e a b o v e e m p h a s i so n b e h a v i o u r a n d s y m b o l i s m i n t h e c o r p o r a t e e n v i r o n m e n t , f ort h e c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n i n v o l v e d h e r e i s t h e s o c i a l m e a n i n g o ft h e m a r k e t a n d t h e r o l e o f n e e d s a n d t h e t o t a l d o m i n a t i o n i ti m p l i e s . T h i s a l t e r n a t i v e i s b a s e d u p o n t h e w o r k o f W i l l i a mL e i s s a n d J o h n A l t in p a r t i c u l a r . T h e y v i e w t h e m a r k e t e x p r e s -s i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l s as b o t h f r e e a n d c o n s t r a i n e d in k e e p i n g


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w i t h t h e m e t a - p o w e r c o n c e p t i o n . C o n s u m e r s a r e a b l e t o u s ec o m m o d i t i e s as r e s o u r c e s t o c r e a t e t h e i r o w n m e a n i n g s a n dg r a t i f i c a t i o n s e v en w h i l e b e i n g c o n s t r a i n e d by t h e s t r u c t u r e sa n d m e a n i n g s g i v e n t o t h e c o m m o d i t i e s b y c o r p o r a t e p r o d u c e r s .H o w e v e r , t h e y a r g u e t h a t t h e c o n s t a n t c h a n g i n g a nd f r a g m e n t a -t i o n o f i m a g e s a n d d e s i g n s d i s o r i e n t s c o n s u m e r s a n d p r e v e n t st h e r a t i o n a l a r t i c u l a t i o n o f n e e d s a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n s . A d -v e r t i s i n g i s a n i m p o r t a n t c u l t u r a l v a r i a b l e in t h i s p r o c e s s .In c o n t r a s t , p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t s d o n o t s e e a d v e r t i s i n ga s a n i n f l u e n t i a l d e v i c e ; r a t h e r i t i s a m o r e o r l e s s n e u t r a lt o o l w h i c h i s a r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e n e e d s a n d d e m a n d s o f c o n s u m -e r s . T h i s d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o t h e o r i e s w i l l b e e x p l o r -ed in so me de ta i 1 .

P a r t II o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n w i l l e l a b o r a t e t h i s t h e -o r e t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n b y e x a m i n i n g r e l e v a n t t h e o r e t i c a l a n d r e -s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e f r o m e a c h o f t h e p e r s p e c t i v e s . T h e i r c o n -c e p t u a l d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d t h e i r r e s o l u t i o n a s d i s c u s s e d a b o v ew i l l b e d e v e l o p e d t h e r e a s w e l l . I n P a r t I I I t h e t w o t h e o r i e sw i l l b e c r i t i c a l l y t e s t e d by a p p l y i n g t h e m to t h e m a r k e t f o ra u t o m o b i l e s an d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e s y m b o l i c a n d p h y s i c a lc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e a u t o m o b i l e . A b r i e f d e l i n e a t i o n o f t h i ss u b s t a n t i v e p r o b l e m w i l l no w b e p r e s e n t e d .

A u t o m o t i v e P e r f o r m a n c e a nd t h e A u t o m o b i l e I n d u s t r yT h e t h e o r e t i c a l d i v i s i o n n o t e d a b o v e c h a r a c t e r i z e s

d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e m a r k e t f o r a u t o m o b i l e s . T h e c o n v e n t i o n a lw i s d o m o f t h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t p e r s p e c t i v e v i e w s t h e


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m a r k e t f or a u t o m o b i l e s a s b a s i c a l l y " f r e e " a n d c o m p e t i t i v ewith co ns um er s in the pow er po si ti on . In this ma rk et con -s u m e r s e x p r e s s t h e i r n e e d s a nd d e s i r e s f o r a u t o m o b i l e s a n d itis the role of the ma nu fa ct ur er s to res pon d to the se ex pr es -s i o n s b y s u p p l y i n g p r o d u c t s w h i c h w i l l s a t i s f y t h e m . F r o mt h e a r r a y o f a u t o m o t i v e d e s i g n s s u p p l i e d b y t h e v a r i o u s p r o -d u c e r s , c o n s u m e r s c h o o s e t h o s e f o u n d t o b e m o s t s a t i s f a c t o r y .Des ign s not suc ces sfu l in the ma rk et mus t be ab an do ne d or re-d e s i g n e d b y t h e p r o d u c e r s i n o r d e r t o b e t t e r c o m p e t e a g a i n s to t h e r d e s i g n s . T h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e m a r k e t in t h i s m a n n e ro p t i m i z e s t h e s e l l i n g p r i c e of a u t o m o b i l e s , t h e d e s i g n of a u t o -m o b i l e s , a nd t h e e f f i c i e n t a l l o c a t i o n o f r e s o u r c e s .

This pos iti on is the one voic ed by the au to mo bi le m an u-f a c t u r e r s t h e m s e l v e s . S p o k e s p e r s o n s f o r t h e i n d u s t r y a r g u et h a t t h e i r p r o d u c t d e s i g n s an d m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g i e s a r e d e p e n d -ent upon co ns um er dem and and re sp on se . The y at te mp t to sella u t o m o b i l e s u s i n g t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e a p p r o a c h e s . T h e y t r y t oass ess the wa nt s and nee ds ex pr es se d by co ns um er s in the mar ke tand to res pon d to cha nge s in them qui ckl y wi th the be st pro du ctthey can su pp ly , sold by the mos t in fo rm at iv e and a pp ea li ngm e t h o d s . A typic al st at em en t of this po si ti on is give n by J.O.Wr ig ht who at the time was a vice pr es id en t in the Ford M ot orC o m p a n y :

Our normal p os it ion is one of ab je ct p ro st ra -tion at the fee t of our cu st om er s. Far fromlea din g the co ns um er by the n o s e , we are for-ev er tr yin g to fa th om his wa nt s and to keepup wit h him (cit ed in St et so n, 1 9 5 8 : 7 6 ) .On the oth er han d, the re is the view of nu me ro us cri tic s

o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y . T h e y a r g u e t h a t t h e A m e r i c a n a u t o -


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m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r e r s h a v e i n t e r f e r e d w i t h t h e m a r k e t b y r e d u c -i ng t h e i r d e p e n d e n c e u p o n c o n s u m e r s , m a n i p u l a t i n g c o n s u m e rn e e d s a n d s u s p e n d i n g c o m p e t i t i o n . T h e y p r o d u c e t h e t y p e so f a u t o m o b i l e s w h i c h a r e m o s t p r o f i t a b l e f o r t h e m b u t w h i c h d onot me et the " t r u e " a n d l e g i t i m a t e n e e d s of c o n s u m e r s ( a ndth ere by do not mee t those of s o c i e t y ) . T h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a r eable to do this bec au se of the ec on om ic po we r they h a v e . Inhis bo ok , Wh at' s Good for GM . . . . Edwa rd Ayr es (1 97 0: 83 )p r e s e n t s a t y p i c a l s t a t e m e n t o f t h e p o s i t i o n .

A l l t h i s c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f e c o n o m i c p o w e rhas a cru shi ng e ff ect on the pe op le wh o dri vec a r s . There was a t i m e , p r e s u m a b l y , w h e n m a n -uf ac tu re rs dec ide d wh at to buil d on the basi sof wh at the cu st om er said he wa nt ed . In them o d e r n a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y , t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r sfir st deci de what to bu il d, then how to maket h e c u s t o m e r w a n t i t . W i t h c o r p o r a t e p l a n -n i n g r e p l a c i n g c o m p e t i t i o n a s t h e p r i n c i p a ld e t e r m i n a n t of t h e p r o d u c t , t h e o l d p r o c e s so f s u p p l y - a n d - d e m a n d is s h o r t - c i r c u i t e d . T h ecu st om er no lo ng er has the po we r he onc e hadto get the pr od uc t he onc e got by in du ci ngd i f f e r e n t p r o d u c e r s t o v i e f o r h i s p a t r o n a g e .A m o n g t h e c o n c r e t e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f t h e c o n -s u m e r s w a n i n g i n f l u e n c e a r e h i g h e r c o s t s(both of pu rc ha se and of r e p a i r ) , p o o r q u a l i t y ,a nd t e c h n o l o g i c a l o b s o l e s c e n c e . D e s i r e d i m-p r o v e m e n t s f a il t o m a t e r i a l i z e , w h i l e c h a n g e sf o r w h i c h t h e c u s t o m e r n e v e r a s k e d , p r o l i f e r a t e .

T h e c r i t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e h a s r a i s e d n u m e r o u s i s s u e s ,2e s p e c i a l l y w i t h i n t h e l a s t f i f t e e n y e a r s . T h e p r e d o m i n a n c e o ft h e a u t o m o b i l e a s a p r i v a t e c o m m o d i t y u s e d fo r p e r s o n a l t r a n s -

p o r t a t i o n i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to p r o b l e m s o f t r a f f i c c o n g e s -t i o n , a i r p o l l u t i o n , e n e r g y u s e , t h e t h o u s a n d s o f " a c c i d e n t a l "d e a t h s a n d i n j u r i e s e a c h y e a r , t h e h i g h c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d m a i n -t e n a n c e c o s t s o f s t r e e t s a n d h i g h w a y s , s u b u r b a n i z a t i o n a n dc e n t r a l c i t y d e c l i n e , e t c . C r i t i c s h a v e a r g u e d t h a t t h e s o c i a l


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a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o s t s o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e a r e t o o h i g h , t h a tt h e c o n s e q u e n c e s a r e s o c i a l l y " i r r a t i o n a l " ( W h i t t , 1 9 7 9 : 9 5 ) .T h e c a u s e s o f , o r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h i s s t a t e o f a f f a i r s i ss a i d t o b e t h e c o r p o r a t e a c t i o n s o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r -e r s w h o c o n t r o l t h e m a r k e t an d o t h e r r e l e v a n t a s p e c t s o f t h e i re n v i r o n m e n t . C o n t r o l o f t h e m a r k e t , a s n o t e d a b o v e , i n t e r f e r e sw i t h i t s e f f i c i e n t a n d r a t i o n a l o p e r a t i o n a l l o w i n g t h e p r o d -u c e r s t o r e a l i z e t h e i r i n t e r e s t s a t t h e e x p e n s e o f c o n s u m e r sa n d s o c i e t y . A t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l l e v e l , i t is a r g u e d t h a tt h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a nd t h e i r c o r p o r a t e a l l i e s i n t h e s o - c a l l e dh i g h w a y l o b b y a c t t o p r o m o t e l e g i s l a t i o n a n d p u b l i c p o l i c i e sw h i c h f a v o u r t he p r i v a t e u s e o f a u t o m o b i l e s a n d b l o c k t h e d e -v e l o p m e n t o f e f f e c t i v e a l t e r n a t i v e s y s t e m s o f u r b a n t r a n s p o r t a -t i o n . O f c o u r s e , t h e a u t o m o b i l e p r o d u c e r s d e n y t h i s r e s p o n s i -b i l i t y . T h e y a r e s u p p o r t e d b y o t h e r a n a l y s t s in t h e i r p o s i t i o nt h a t t h e m a r k e t a n d c o n s u m e r s d e t e r m i n e c o r p o r a t e a c t i o n s .

It is the ma rk et level o f an al ys is wh ic h is of i nt er -est to this di sc us si on . For som e re as on , the re has been veryl i t t l e s o c i o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h d e s i g n e d s p e c i f i c a l l y to a d d r e s st h e s e c o n c e r n s . T h e a v a i l a b l e r e s e a r c h h a s b e e n c o n d u c t e dm o s t l y b y e c o n o m i s t s an d m a r k e t r e s e a r c h e r s w h o s e i n t e r e s t s a r eo n l y p a r t i a l l y r e l e v a n t t o t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l q u e s t i o n s o f c o r -p o r a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h th e m a r k e t a n d s o c i e t y .

I n t h e c a s e o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y , r e s e a r c h w h i c hf o c u s e s on c o m p e t i t i v e s t r a t e g i e s a n d t h e i r o p e r a t i o n , o r o nt h e n a t u r e o f c o n s u m e r d e m a n d s , o f t e n is n o t d i r e c t e d t o t h em o s t s a l i e n t d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e s o c i o l o g i c a l p r o b l e m . T h e s t u d yo f t he r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n c o r p o r a t i o n s , m a r k e t s , a nd s o c i e t y


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r e q u i r e s a p r o b l e m i n w h i c h t h e a c t i o n s o f t h e a u t o m o b i l ei n d u s t r y , c o n s u m e r s , a n d s o c i a l g r o u p s in s o c i e t y ca n b e o b -se rv ed . The pr ob le m ch os en to be the ve hi cl e for this stud yi s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e m e a n i n g a nd s h a p e o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e .O n e s i g n i f i c a n t s e t o f m e a n i n g s a n d r e l a t e d d e s i g n s h a s b e e nf u r t h e r s e l e c t e d f o r a n a l y s i s . T h e s e m e a n i n g s a n d d e s i g n sa r e t h o s e r e l a t e d t o t h e t h e m e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e , p o w e r , s p e e d ,a nd m a c h i s m o .

T h e e l i t e / c l a s s t h e o r e t i c a l f r a m e w o r k s u p p l e m e n t e d b yt h e c o n c e p t i o n o f m e t a - p o w e r an d t h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s tf r a m e w o r k w i l l b e a p p l i e d t o t h i s p r o b l e m . H y p o t h e s e s d e r i v e df r o m e a c h p r e d i c t i n g t h e n a t u r e o f t h e i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e na u t o m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r e r s a n d c o n s u m e r s w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h ed e t e r m i n a t i o n o f a u t o m o t i v e d e s i g n a nd m e a n i n g w i l l b e t e s t e d .T h i s t e s t w i l l i n v o l v e th e u s e o f s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s o f d a t a .T o e x p l a i n t h e p e r f o r m a n c e c o n t e n t o f A m e r i c a n a u t o m o t i v ed e s i g n , s e v e r a l h y p o t h e s e s w i l l b e d e r i v e d a n d t e s t e d . In d e -r i v i n g a n d t e s t i n g t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s t h e s p e c i f i c c o n t o u r s a n dh i s t o r y of t h e a u t o m o b i l e m a r k e t a n d t h e i n d u s t r y m u s t b ec o n s i d e r e d .

P e r f o r m a n c e t h e m e s a r e s i g n i f i c a n t a nd w o r t h y o f s t u d yb e c a u s e t h e y h a v e b e e n t h e s u b j e c t o f i n c r e a s i n g p u b l i c c o n -cern and cr it ic is m sin ce the end of Wo rld War II. This pu bli cc r i t i c i s m a s s e r t s t h a t p e r f o r m a n c e m e a n i n g s an d d e s i g n s d e v e l o p -e d a n d p r o d u c e d b y m a n u f a c t u r e r s a r e o v e r - e m p h a s i z e d a n d h a v ed e l e t e r i o u s e f f e c t s u po n t h e c o n s u m e r s , t h e t r a n s p o r t a t i o ns y s t e m a n d s o c i e t y . T h e s e p e r f o r m a n c e t h e m e s a r e n o t r e l a t e d


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t o t h e p r i m a r y u s e o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e a s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . A ss u c h , they are said to be ir ra ti on al , to appea l to the em ot io ns ,a n d t o e x c i t e m o t i v e s w h i c h a r e n o t f u n c t i o n a l in t h e t r a n s p o r t -a t i o n s y s t e m . T h e s e m o t i v e s ( s o m e t i m e s r e f e r r e d t o a s " e x t r am o t i v e s " ) a r e b e l i e v e d t o b e "a m a j o r f a c t o r of d a n g e r o u st r a f f i c b e h a v i o u r a n d h e n c e c o n t r i b u t e g r e a t l y t o t h e h i g ha c c i d e n t t o l l " ( N a a t a n e n a n d S u m m a l a , 1 9 7 6 : 2 6 ) . T h e s e t h e m e sa n d t h e i r a s s o c i a t e d m o t i v a t i o n a l b a s e a l s o e n c o u r a g e u n n e c e s -s a r y d r i v i n g , t h e w a s t e o f e n e r g y , a n d t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a t t i -t u d e s w h i c h m a k e v a r i o u s s a f e t y d e v i c e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n d i f f i -c u l t t o a p p l y . T h e a u t o m o b i l e p r o d u c e r s in p r o m o t i n g s u c h n o n -t r a n s p o r t a t i o n t h e m e s a r e s a i d t o p l a y u p o n c o n s u m e r f o i b l e sa n d w e a k n e s s e s , p r e v e n t t h em f r o m m a k i n g r a t i o n a l c h o i c e s , m a n -i p u l a t e a nd a r t i f i c i a l l y s t i m u l a t e th e d e m a n d f o r a u t o m o b i l e s .M o r e o v e r , t h e a r g u m e n t c o n t i n e s , t h e a u t o m o b i l e s t h e y p r o d u c ea r e n o t p r o p e r l y b a l a n c e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e -t w e e n t h e p o w e r , w e i g h t a n d b r a k i n g c a p a c i t i e s . T h e s e u n b a l a n c -e d d e s i g n s a r e n o t r a t i o n a l o r s a f e a s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n d e v i c e s .T h e i n d u s t r y p r o f i t s g r e a t l y f r o m s u c h b e h a v i o u r w h i l e t h e i n -t e r e s t s o f c o n s u m e r s a nd s o c i e t y s u f f e r .

T h e m a n u f a c t u r e r s d e n y t h e s e c h a r g e s a nd s p e c i f i c a l l yd e n y t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s p o i n t e d o u t b yc r i t i c s . I n l i n e w i t h t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l s o c i o l o g i c a l w i s d o m ,t h e y a r g u e , w i t h t h e s u p p o r t o f o t h e r a n a l y s t s , t h a t t h e t y p e so f a u t o m o b i l e s t h e y p r o d u c e a n d p r o m o t e a r e a r e s p o n s e t o t hew a n t s o f c o n s u m e r s e x p r e s s e d in t h e m a r k e t . A t y p i c a l c o u n t e r -a r g u m e n t r e p r e s e n t i n g t h i s p o s i t i o n is p r e s e n t e d by K e n n e t h


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Ford in a Spe cia l Re po rt to the rea de rs of Pri nt er 's In k,a p r o m i n e n t a d v e r t i s i n g i n d u s t r y t r a d e j o u r n a l .

T h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f D e t r o i t ' s a d v e r t i s -ing st yl e is be yo nd qu es ti on -- it sel lsc a r s a t a n i n c r e a s i n g r a t e , and that is thename of the g a m e . Or w a s . For now thea u t o s a f e t y f a n a t i c s a r e c h a l l e n g i n gD e t r o i t ' s a d v e r t i s i n g t e c h n i q u e s . T h e yc h a r g e t h a t it g l o r i f i e s s p e e d a nd p o w e r ,e n c o u r a g e s r e c k l e s s d r i v i n g a nd is a t l e a s ti n p a r t r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e n a t i o n ' s 4 9 , 5 0 0a n n u a l t r a f f i c d e a t h t o l l .

T h i s i s u t t e r n o n s e n s e . A s I r v i n g R u b i n. . . no te d . . . "P ow er fu l ca rs a re no m or ed a n g e r o u s t h a n a r o p e . The rope is notd a n g e r o u s u n t i l s o m e o n e d e c i d e s t o m a k e ano os e and use it to k i l l " ( F o r d , 1 9 6 6 : 9 - 1 0 ) .T h e c o n c e p t u a l g u i d a n c e p r o v i d e d by t h e t h e o r e t i c a l

f r a m e w o r k s s u g g e s t s p e c i f i c v a r i a b l e s a n d t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p sa s s i g n i f i c a n t f o r e x p l a i n i n g t h i s i s s u e . In b o t h c a s e s t h ea u t o m o b i l e m a r k e t is r e c o g n i z e d a s h a v i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t s y m b o l -i c o r c u l t u r a l d i m e n s i o n . B o t h m o r e o r l e s s a g r e e t h a t t h ea u t o m o b i l e c a n b e u s e d a s a r e s o u r c e b y i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p sf o r t h e p u r s u i t of e x p e r i e n c e a n d g r a t i f i c a t i o n s , f o r m e a n i n g -f ul s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n , a nd f o r m e a n i n g f u l s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n . B o t ha g r e e t h a t t h e s e m e a n i n g s a n d u s e s c o m e to b e r e f l e c t e d i n t h ec o m m e r i c a l s y m b o l i s m a n d d e s i g n s o f a u t o m o b i l e s . T h e y d i s a g r e eo n h o w t h e s e " r e f l e c t i o n 1 ^ oo;me to be th er e. The y al so di sa gr eeo n t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s o f t h e s e r e f l e c t i o n s o f c o n s u m e r i n -t e r e s t s . A n d t h e y d i s a g r e e o n t h e e f f e c t s o f s a l e s s t r a t e g i e ss u c h a s a d v e r t i s i n g a n d p r o d u c t d e s i g n .

T h e p l u r a l i s t / f u n c t i o n a l i s t v ie w e m p h a s i z e s c o n s u m e rd e m a n d a n d i t s l e g i t i m a c y . T h e c o m b i n e d e l i t e / c l a s s m e t a - p o w e rv i e w ( t o b e t e r m e d s i m p l y t h e m e t a - p o w e r v i e w ) e m p h a s i z e s t h em a n n e r i n w h i c h b e h a v i o u r s a n d s y m b o l s i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o f


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p o w e r s t r u c t u r e s a r e u t i l i z e d b y o r i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e i rg o a l d i r e c t e d a c t i o n s . W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p e r f o r m a n c e i s s u e ,i t i s f o u n d t h a t a r o u n d t h e s e t h e m e s h a s a r i s e n a s u b c u l t u r e >t o b e c a l l e d t h e p e r f o r m a n c e s u b c u l t u r e , w h i c h is e n t h u s i a -s t i c a l l y d e v o t e d t o t h e a u t o m o b i l e a n d i t s u s e i n t h e s a t i s -f a c t i o n o f t h e s e v a l u e s a n d m o t i v e s , a m o n g o t h e r s . O f a l l t h em a n i f e s t a t i o n s of t h i s s u b c u l t u r e e x i s t i n g t o d a y , t h a t f o r mk n o w n a s " h o t r o d d i n g " is t h e m o s t v i s i b l e . T h e s o c i o l o g i c a l -l y i n t e r e s t i n g t h i n g a b o u t h o t r o d d i n g is t h a t i n i t s e a r l yh i s t o r y a r o u n d t h e e n d o f W o r l d W a r II a n d t h r o u g h o u t t h e1 9 5 0 s , i t a r o u s e d g r e a t p u b l i c c o n c e r n a n d w a s l a b e l e d a s ad e v i a n t a n d d a n g e r o u s a c t i v i t y p u r s u e d b y i r r e s p o n s i b l e d e l i n -q u e n t s a n d " r e b e l s " . I n m a n y r e s p e c t s h o t r o d d e r s a n d t h e i rh o t r o d s w e r e t h e s o c i a l e m b o d i m e n t o f t h e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t so f t h e a r g u m e n t s r a i s e d b y c r i t i c s o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e i n d u s t r y .Y e t , i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s h o t r o d d i n g h a d a c h i e v e d a d e g r e e o f s o c i a lr e s p e c t a b i l i t y as a c o m m e r c i a l s p o r t . A n d t h e a u t o m o b i l e m a n u -f a c t u r e r s b e g a n t o p r o d u c e t h e i r o w n h o t r o d s f o r t h e m a r k e t .T h e s e a u t o m o b i l e s c a m e t o b e k n o w n a s " M u s c l e C a r s " o r " S u p e rC a r s " .

O v e r t h i s p e r i o d o f t i m e a u t o m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r e r s w e r en o t o n l y p r o m o t i n g p e r f o r m a n c e t h e m e s b u t w e r e a l s o i n v o l v e di n h o t r o d d i n g i n v a r i o u s w a y s . T h i s p r o m o t i o n a n d i n v o l v e m e n tw a s t h e s u b j e c t o f c o n t i n u a l p u b l i c c r i t i c i s m . S e v e r a l g o v e r n -m e n t i n q u i r i e s i n t o t r a f f i c s a f e t y f o c u s e d u p o n t

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