In a world of nearly 10 billion people, competition for the conditions of life and wealth can onl... more In a world of nearly 10 billion people, competition for the conditions of life and wealth can only accelerate. Our contention is that with such increasing competition, more and more material as well as immaterial things will be turned into resources – a process that we suggest to label resourcification.Resourcification is not another term for processes of economisation such as commodification and marketisation – even if each of these can be part of it. Resourcification makes explicit that things are not turned into resources by themselves, nor are they turned into resources randomly. Resources are literally produced, and resourcification as a concept and process intend to provide an understanding of how, where, when, and for whom this production happens, thus creating a platform for a socio-ecological critique of the current economic, social and environmental order. For example, resourcification intends to go beyond the observation that common-pool resources such as ecosystem servic...
Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA, 2012
This paper describes the business model of municipally-owned MSW (municipal solid waste) companie... more This paper describes the business model of municipally-owned MSW (municipal solid waste) companies in Sweden. A comparative study of two of these companies shows that they combine three types of activities: public service activities that collect solid waste from households, commercial establishments, and industry; processing activities that transform this waste; and marketing activities that enable products and recycled material to re-enter the economy. The historical success of the two companies rests on their ability to create value by combining these three distinct yet mutually dependent types of activities. However, an ongoing legal controversy may develop into a threat to this business model and to the entire organization of Swedish waste management.
This article contributes to the ongoing discussion, revived by the service-dominant logic thesis,... more This article contributes to the ongoing discussion, revived by the service-dominant logic thesis, on value propositions in service organizations. Against a backdrop of understanding value as a pluralistic social construct that takes place across different institutionalized practices of valuation or regimes of value, we argue that value propositions transcend the immediate localness of both value in exchange and value in use. Correspondingly, we claim that service practitioners may draw advantages from engaging with a politics of value that addresses multiple regimes of value, whether commensurable or not. A case study of waste management services in Sweden serves as an illustration of such a politics that combines practical, economic, political, and environmental aspects of value propositions.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narrat... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narratives – narratives about the character, history, or envisioned future of societies.Design/methodology/approachA case study of a Swedish municipal waste management company serves as an illustration.FindingsSwedish waste governance is powered by two main narratives: “less landfilling” and “wasting less”. Less landfilling has been the dominant narrative for several decades, but wasting less is gaining momentum, and a new narrative order is establishing itself. This new narrative order significantly redefines the socio‐material status of waste and imposes major changes on waste management organizations.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the case of waste governance in Sweden, the authors conclude that organizations should be aware that societal narrative affects the legitimacy and nature of their operations; therefore, they must integrate a watch for narrative change in their strategic...
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2012
Municipal solid waste is a central concern for environmental policy, and the sociomateriality of ... more Municipal solid waste is a central concern for environmental policy, and the sociomateriality of waste—the ways in which waste is socially defined and dealt with—is an important issue for sustainability. We show how applying the European Union's waste policy through the European Waste Hierarchy (EWH) affects the sociomateriality of waste. The EWH ranks the desirability of different waste-management approaches according to their environmental impact. We investigate how the EWH has been acknowledged and interpreted in five different organizational contexts with relevance for Swedish waste management: EU environmental policy, the Swedish EPA, two municipal waste-management companies, and the trade organization Swedish Waste Management which represents the interests of municipal bodies involved with waste. In addition to preventing the production of waste, the EWH aims to disassemble, circulate, and reintroduce as much material as possible into production processes. We show how thes...
This paper describes the business model of two influential Swedish municipal waste management com... more This paper describes the business model of two influential Swedish municipal waste management companies. A comparative study of these case companies shows that they combine three types of activities: public service activities that take in waste from households and industry; processing activities that transform this waste; and marketing activities that let processed material re-enter the economy. The historical success of the two companies rests on an ability to combine these three distinct although mutually dependent ...
In a world of nearly 10 billion people, competition for the conditions of life and wealth can onl... more In a world of nearly 10 billion people, competition for the conditions of life and wealth can only accelerate. Our contention is that with such increasing competition, more and more material as well as immaterial things will be turned into resources – a process that we suggest to label resourcification.Resourcification is not another term for processes of economisation such as commodification and marketisation – even if each of these can be part of it. Resourcification makes explicit that things are not turned into resources by themselves, nor are they turned into resources randomly. Resources are literally produced, and resourcification as a concept and process intend to provide an understanding of how, where, when, and for whom this production happens, thus creating a platform for a socio-ecological critique of the current economic, social and environmental order. For example, resourcification intends to go beyond the observation that common-pool resources such as ecosystem servic...
Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA, 2012
This paper describes the business model of municipally-owned MSW (municipal solid waste) companie... more This paper describes the business model of municipally-owned MSW (municipal solid waste) companies in Sweden. A comparative study of two of these companies shows that they combine three types of activities: public service activities that collect solid waste from households, commercial establishments, and industry; processing activities that transform this waste; and marketing activities that enable products and recycled material to re-enter the economy. The historical success of the two companies rests on their ability to create value by combining these three distinct yet mutually dependent types of activities. However, an ongoing legal controversy may develop into a threat to this business model and to the entire organization of Swedish waste management.
This article contributes to the ongoing discussion, revived by the service-dominant logic thesis,... more This article contributes to the ongoing discussion, revived by the service-dominant logic thesis, on value propositions in service organizations. Against a backdrop of understanding value as a pluralistic social construct that takes place across different institutionalized practices of valuation or regimes of value, we argue that value propositions transcend the immediate localness of both value in exchange and value in use. Correspondingly, we claim that service practitioners may draw advantages from engaging with a politics of value that addresses multiple regimes of value, whether commensurable or not. A case study of waste management services in Sweden serves as an illustration of such a politics that combines practical, economic, political, and environmental aspects of value propositions.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narrat... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that organizational change depends on societal narratives – narratives about the character, history, or envisioned future of societies.Design/methodology/approachA case study of a Swedish municipal waste management company serves as an illustration.FindingsSwedish waste governance is powered by two main narratives: “less landfilling” and “wasting less”. Less landfilling has been the dominant narrative for several decades, but wasting less is gaining momentum, and a new narrative order is establishing itself. This new narrative order significantly redefines the socio‐material status of waste and imposes major changes on waste management organizations.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the case of waste governance in Sweden, the authors conclude that organizations should be aware that societal narrative affects the legitimacy and nature of their operations; therefore, they must integrate a watch for narrative change in their strategic...
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2012
Municipal solid waste is a central concern for environmental policy, and the sociomateriality of ... more Municipal solid waste is a central concern for environmental policy, and the sociomateriality of waste—the ways in which waste is socially defined and dealt with—is an important issue for sustainability. We show how applying the European Union's waste policy through the European Waste Hierarchy (EWH) affects the sociomateriality of waste. The EWH ranks the desirability of different waste-management approaches according to their environmental impact. We investigate how the EWH has been acknowledged and interpreted in five different organizational contexts with relevance for Swedish waste management: EU environmental policy, the Swedish EPA, two municipal waste-management companies, and the trade organization Swedish Waste Management which represents the interests of municipal bodies involved with waste. In addition to preventing the production of waste, the EWH aims to disassemble, circulate, and reintroduce as much material as possible into production processes. We show how thes...
This paper describes the business model of two influential Swedish municipal waste management com... more This paper describes the business model of two influential Swedish municipal waste management companies. A comparative study of these case companies shows that they combine three types of activities: public service activities that take in waste from households and industry; processing activities that transform this waste; and marketing activities that let processed material re-enter the economy. The historical success of the two companies rests on an ability to combine these three distinct although mutually dependent ...
The purpose of this paper is to unlock positions regarding the goods/services dichotomy in servic... more The purpose of this paper is to unlock positions regarding the goods/services dichotomy in service marketing and to offer an argument that treats goods and services on an ontologically equal basis. Design/methodology/approach – A close reading of influential texts that argue in favor of a service-dominant logic (SDL) and new paradigms in service marketing. Findings – Both the SDL proposal and calls for new service paradigms can be understood as ad hoc solutions that serve to reproduce and even strengthen the asymmetry between goods and services. A post-paradigmatic analysis opens up new possibilities for service marketing research and practice. Research limitations/implications – By showing how goods and services can be positioned equally, hitherto invisible sites of value creation become potential subjects for analyses in service marketing. Practical implications – Service marketing practices are situated so as to explain the value creating interactions between service providers and customers in a more transparent way than is usual. Originality/value – An ontologically grounded critique of the ad hoc nature of contemporary service marketing theory.
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Papers by Johan Hultman