Emotions as Causal Mechanisms and Strategic Resources for Action in the Study of Professions, Professionals, and Professional Service Firms

Professions are imbued with values that form the core of a professional’s identity. When professionals are faced with internal or external contradictions or affirmations of this identity, positive and negative emotions ensue, often fostering agency. While most research on professions focuses on cogn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of professions and organization 2021-10
Main Authors: Lelasseux, Laure, Lander, Michel W, Barbulescu, Roxana
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Professions are imbued with values that form the core of a professional’s identity. When professionals are faced with internal or external contradictions or affirmations of this identity, positive and negative emotions ensue, often fostering agency. While most research on professions focuses on cognitive and structural arguments to explain professional agency, we show the added benefit of examining emotions as (1) causal mechanisms fostering action and (2) strategic resources for action. We illustrate these ideas with data from a field study on French doctors specializing in reproductive medicine and dealing with the restrictive regulation on assisted medical procreation. We identify six research areas that would benefit from an explicit focus on emotions and suggest specific research questions and directions for future work for each.
ISSN:2051-8803
2051-8811
DOI:10.1093/jpo/joab018