Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft

Against the background of a growing interest in the resurgence of craft work, this article examines the organizational conditions that characterize craft-based production in contemporary society and how they help to facilitate craft resurgence. The paper identifies three organizational conditions of...

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Main Author: Nyfeler Judith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-07-01
Series:Journal of Organizational Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0029
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author Nyfeler Judith
author_facet Nyfeler Judith
author_sort Nyfeler Judith
collection DOAJ
description Against the background of a growing interest in the resurgence of craft work, this article examines the organizational conditions that characterize craft-based production in contemporary society and how they help to facilitate craft resurgence. The paper identifies three organizational conditions of contemporary craft-based production, relating to the mass market, producing by means of flexible specialization, and using infrastructures. By applying a historical lens, I argue that these organizational conditions have formed into a particular way of organizing craft-based production which is attuned to local and temporal specificities. Therefore, this study builds on a complementary, symbiotic notion of craft which considers industrial manufacture, serial production and digital technologies to be constitutive of craft making. By offering an alternative conceptual framework to grasp the resurgence of craft, this article contributes to the understanding of organizational resilience.
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series Journal of Organizational Sociology
spelling doaj-art-113319c9c4be4de2a16ed57ce200d4f22025-08-20T02:07:02ZengDe GruyterJournal of Organizational Sociology2752-29972024-07-012330332610.1515/joso-2023-0029Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of CraftNyfeler Judith027215School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of Sociology, University of St. Gallen, Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 8, CH-9000, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandAgainst the background of a growing interest in the resurgence of craft work, this article examines the organizational conditions that characterize craft-based production in contemporary society and how they help to facilitate craft resurgence. The paper identifies three organizational conditions of contemporary craft-based production, relating to the mass market, producing by means of flexible specialization, and using infrastructures. By applying a historical lens, I argue that these organizational conditions have formed into a particular way of organizing craft-based production which is attuned to local and temporal specificities. Therefore, this study builds on a complementary, symbiotic notion of craft which considers industrial manufacture, serial production and digital technologies to be constitutive of craft making. By offering an alternative conceptual framework to grasp the resurgence of craft, this article contributes to the understanding of organizational resilience.https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0029craftindustrial manufacture; organizingflexible specializationsocial systems of production; infrastructure
spellingShingle Nyfeler Judith
Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
Journal of Organizational Sociology
craft
industrial manufacture; organizing
flexible specialization
social systems of production; infrastructure
title Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
title_full Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
title_fullStr Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
title_full_unstemmed Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
title_short Social Systems of Flexible Production: Organizational Conditions for the Resurgence of Craft
title_sort social systems of flexible production organizational conditions for the resurgence of craft
topic craft
industrial manufacture; organizing
flexible specialization
social systems of production; infrastructure
url https://doi.org/10.1515/joso-2023-0029
work_keys_str_mv AT nyfelerjudith socialsystemsofflexibleproductionorganizationalconditionsfortheresurgenceofcraft