Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography

Whereas the emergence of pyramid schemes exerted considerable impacts on people’s lives, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the experiences of members from the sociological perspective, particularly in non-Western contexts. Therefore, this study illuminates social processes underly...

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Autores principales:	Saeed Keshavarzi, Ali Ruhani, Soheyla Hajiheidari
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Lodz University Press 2021
Materias:	pyramid scheme firms social construction of superhuman critical ethnography Sociology (General) HM401-1281
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5e306d9d7aea42209a4ee74567ed1326
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:5e306d9d7aea42209a4ee74567ed1326
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5e306d9d7aea42209a4ee74567ed13262021-11-26T15:06:50ZMechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography1733-807710.18778/1733-8077.17.4.06https://doaj.org/article/5e306d9d7aea42209a4ee74567ed13262021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/11324https://doaj.org/toc/1733-8077Whereas the emergence of pyramid schemes exerted considerable impacts on people’s lives, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the experiences of members from the sociological perspective, particularly in non-Western contexts. Therefore, this study illuminates social processes underlying participation in such schemes in a less studied social setting, Iran. This article also critically traces the social and psychological consequences of membership in pyramid schemes. We adapted a critical ethnographic approach, including participant observation of local branch offices, followed by 16 in-depth interviews with the former members of schemes. Our findings suggest that the practices deployed by the schemes lead to the building of social identity, namely, “superhuman,” mainly based on the misinterpretation of the real world. Finding the reality surrounded deliberately contrasted with the firms’ promises, the constructed identity fails, and members lose their social capital.Saeed KeshavarziAli RuhaniSoheyla HajiheidariLodz University Pressarticlepyramid scheme firmssocial construction of superhumancritical ethnographySociology (General)HM401-1281ENQualitative Sociology Review, Vol 17, Iss 4, Pp 104-117 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	pyramid scheme firms social construction of superhuman critical ethnography Sociology (General) HM401-1281
spellingShingle	pyramid scheme firms social construction of superhuman critical ethnography Sociology (General) HM401-1281 Saeed Keshavarzi Ali Ruhani Soheyla Hajiheidari Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
description	Whereas the emergence of pyramid schemes exerted considerable impacts on people’s lives, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the experiences of members from the sociological perspective, particularly in non-Western contexts. Therefore, this study illuminates social processes underlying participation in such schemes in a less studied social setting, Iran. This article also critically traces the social and psychological consequences of membership in pyramid schemes. We adapted a critical ethnographic approach, including participant observation of local branch offices, followed by 16 in-depth interviews with the former members of schemes. Our findings suggest that the practices deployed by the schemes lead to the building of social identity, namely, “superhuman,” mainly based on the misinterpretation of the real world. Finding the reality surrounded deliberately contrasted with the firms’ promises, the constructed identity fails, and members lose their social capital.
format	article
author	Saeed Keshavarzi Ali Ruhani Soheyla Hajiheidari
author_facet	Saeed Keshavarzi Ali Ruhani Soheyla Hajiheidari
author_sort	Saeed Keshavarzi
title	Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
title_short	Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
title_full	Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
title_fullStr	Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
title_full_unstemmed	Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography
title_sort	mechanisms of identity construction among members of pyramid schemes in iran: a critical ethnography
publisher	Lodz University Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5e306d9d7aea42209a4ee74567ed1326
work_keys_str_mv	AT saeedkeshavarzi mechanismsofidentityconstructionamongmembersofpyramidschemesiniranacriticalethnography AT aliruhani mechanismsofidentityconstructionamongmembersofpyramidschemesiniranacriticalethnography AT soheylahajiheidari mechanismsofidentityconstructionamongmembersofpyramidschemesiniranacriticalethnography
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Mechanisms of Identity Construction among Members of Pyramid Schemes in Iran: A Critical Ethnography

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