Timisoara is an important economic development city in Romania, yet, not many people discuss about alternative ways to mainstream economy. But considering that social economy is relatively a new concept in Romania, this should not come as a surprise. Social economy has the potential to shape the future of economics, especially taking into consideration the critics addressed to the current model of development, therefore it deserves at least a bit of our attention. In this post Anisia Tamba considers value orientation among the customers of Reciproc, a social enterprise focused on promoting local, fair-trade products and responsible consumption; and Aethernativ, a non-social enterprise. Both places are situated close to Unirii Square in Timisoara and they stand out through their cozy, unique and relaxing ambient.
Photos retrieved from: www.bohoguide.com and www.timisplus.ro
If mainstream economics focus on profit, social economy focuses on the individual rather than the capital (Liger, Stefan, and Britton 2016, p. 7) and it brings in discussion aspects such as ecology and equity in relation to consumer’s behavior. On the other hand, value orientation, be it materialism (concerned about immediate needs and capital) or post-materialism (concerned about the qualitative aspects of life) (Inglehart 2009), represents one of those beliefs that influence the behavior of consumers. Addressing value orientation, Ronald Inglehart (1981) argues that people’s socioeconomic conditions determine their value orientation, which can change from one generation to another. Therefore, an important question is: are the customers of a social enterprise similar to regular customers in terms of values? In my paper, I analyze possible value orientation differences between the customers in connection to their general profile and their level of knowledge on social economy. This post summarizes some key aspects from a research conducted through a questionnaire addressed to the customers of Reciproc and Aethernativ in January 9th, respectively January 14th, and it includes the analysis of the 43 anonymous answers.
Firstly, let’s consider the general profile, most of the respondents are urban residents and if we consider their occupation, both groups are dominated by professionals and students. However, in terms of age, education and income, there are statistically significant results between the two groups. Most of the customers are relatively young, but the customers from Aethernativ are mostly between 18 to 34 years old, while those from Reciproc are mostly between 25 to 44 years old. Consequently, most customers from Aethernativ have a BA or high school degree, followed by PhD or middle school studies, while those from Reciproc have a BA, MA or PhD degree, followed by high school diploma.
Regarding the financial aspects, both groups’ income is mostly based on salary, however, the customers from Reciproc have a higher income than those from Aethernativ. Also, it should be noted that most responses are included in the null category, because the majority of respondents refused to answer, as it can be seen below:
Secondly, in terms of knowledge on social economy, the results are similar for both groups. Moreover, the respondents who had knowledge on social economy most often identified it with prosperity, welfare, equity, helping others and sustainability, as it can be seen in the following word cloud:
The study, also, shows a significant friends-based network in the process of discovering the locations, along with social media and curiosity.
Thirdly, in terms of values, the customers from Reciproc and Aethernativ share a similar value orientation, they are inclined towards post-materialism, and this is intuitive if we consider the socioeconomic features of the groups, they are represented by mostly young, highly educated people with a generally high income.
Also, when we refer to their childhood experience, there are no significant differences between the groups. Most of the customers spent their childhood in an urban area, they agreed that their family experienced financial problems while they were children, but also most of them agreed that they parents bought them whatever they wanted, which means that their childhood was not marked by scarcity.
To sum up, there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of value orientation, only in terms of income, education and age. In other words, both groups are concerned about the qualitative aspects of life such as freedom of speech, aesthetics, humanity and a higher decision power at work, within the community or regarding governmental decisions. Based on the results, we can assume that a higher predominance of such values among customers, has the potential to enhance the sector of social economy in Timisoara.
The fact that the customers from Reciproc and Aethernativ share a similar value orientation could be related to the fact that both locations have common features and they are geographically connected, therefore they could possibly share the same clientele. Regarding, income and education differences, these might be related to the fact that higher levels of education offer a better income, which is the case of Reciproc, but also due to the age difference.
Finally, I will note some methodological details. I used classical Inglehart value orientation scales, three version. The results turned out to be robust across the three different measurements of value orientation, and across their sum. I used a cluster sampling with a threshold of minim 20 persons per location and the analysis of data included the T-test to check for any statistical significance of the results. However, the results from this study can’t be generalized due to the limited sample.
References:
Liger, Quentin, Dr Marco Stefan, and Jess Britton. 2016. Directorate-General For Internal Policies – Policy Department a Economic and Scientific Policy Social Economy – Study for the IMCO Committee. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/578969/IPOL_STU(2016)578969_EN.pdf.
Inglehart, Roland. 1981. “Post-Materialism in an Environment of Insecurity Author ( s ): Ronald Inglehart Source : The American Political Science Review , Vol . 75 , No . 4 ( Dec ., 1981 ), Pp . 880-900 Published by : American Political Science Association Stable URL : Http://Www.” 75(4): 880–900.
———. 2009. “Post-materialist Values and the Shift from Survival to Self-Expression Values.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior (April 2018).
