Characterization of the staff of a shopping center in the textile commercial pole of agreste: dispositional tendencies and administrative tensions

Abstract

This article characterizes the staff, business owners and managers of a shopping center located in a specific countryside region in northeastern Brazil. A contextualized reading of the notion of habitus (Bourdieu) was used to achieve two objectives: (1) verify similarities and differences in administrative dispositional tendencies for the target population; and (2) identify dispositional tendencies for the tension between the staff and the company’s administration. This exploratory study assessed 159 interviews and field observations of ethnographic nature. The development of a theoretical tool (the notion of administrative dispositional tendencies) to characterize this population in this specific context can contribute to the knowledge of phenomena of this nature (object of Organizational Studies) and inspire other studies in the field. The results show three administrative dispositional tendencies that seem to be significantly recurrent among respondents, namely: (1) maintenance of practices close to administration; (2) adaptation to the new business environment; and (3) administrative hybridity.

Keywords:
Textile Commercial Pole of Agreste; Shopping Center; Habitus; Dispositional Tendencies; Staff