From Social Movement to Moral Market: How the Circuit Riders Sparked an IT Revolution and Created a Technology Market

McInerney, Paul-Brian

ISBN 10: 0804785120 / ISBN 13: 9780804785129

Published by Stanford University Press, 2014

About this Item

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc.

Seller Inventory # 00084526366

Bibliographic Details

• Title: From Social Movement to Moral Market: How the Circuit Riders Sparked an IT Revolution and Created a Technology Market
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804785120
• ISBN 13: 9780804785129
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

In From Social Movement to Moral Market, Paul-Brian McInerney explores what happens when a movement of activists gives way to a market for entrepreneurs. This book explains the transition by tracing the brief and colorful history of the Circuit Riders, a group of activists who sought to lead nonprofits across the digital divide. In a single decade, this movement spawned a market for technology assistance providers, dedicated to serving nonprofit organizations. In contrast to the Circuit Riders' grassroots approach, which was rooted in their commitment to a cause, these consultancies sprung up as social enterprises, blending the values of the nonprofit sector with the economic principles of for-profit businesses. Through a historical-institutional analysis, this narrative shows how the values of a movement remain intact even as entrepreneurs displace activists. While the Circuit Riders serve as a rich core example in the book, McInerney's findings speak to similar processes in other "moral markets," such as organic food, exploring how the evolution from movement to market impacts activists and enterprises alike.

About the Author

Paul-Brian McInerney is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on economic and organizational sociology, social studies of technology, social movements and collective behavior, and qualitative methods.