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Working with(in) kinship: value in Italian family businesses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2021

Lauren Virginia Crossland-Marr
Lauren Virginia Crossland-Marr*
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department, Washington University in St Louis, MO, USA
*
*Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In Italy, living close to or even within a place of business is not in and of itself unusual. Forms of housing in Italy are similar to many other European countries in that people primarily live in mixed-use spaces. It is common to have an apartment above cafés, bars, and bakeries. In this article, I examine how this form of mixed-use residence shapes market practices, decision-making, and labour relations among owners and workers. I argue that the spaces in which employees participate in the market economy also mirror their commitments to family. By examining workspaces across two food certifications in Milan, Italy – a Made in Italy certification (Food Italy) and a halal certification (Halal Italia) – I argue that Italian kinship networks structure how workers in each business operate. This intervention contributes to a larger literature on the cultural dimensions of capitalism.

In Italia vivere vicino o addirittura all'interno di una sede di lavoro non è un cosa inusuale. Le forme di alloggio in Italia sono simili a molti altri paesi europei in quanto le persone vivono principalmente in spazi ad uso misto. Di solito, nelle città italiane, ci sono appartamenti sopra i caffè, i bar e le panetterie. In questo articolo, esamino come questa forma di residenza (uso misto oppure polifunzionale) modella le pratiche di mercato, il processo decisionale e le relazioni di lavoro tra proprietari e lavoratori. Sostengo che gli spazi in cui i dipendenti partecipano all'economia di mercato rispecchiano anche i loro impegni verso la famiglia. Attraverso gli spazi di lavoro nelle due certificazioni alimentari a Milano: una certificazione Made in Italy (Food Italy) e una certificazione halal (Halal Italia), si vede che le reti di parentela italiane strutturano il modo in cui operano i lavoratori di ciascuna azienda. Questo intervento contribuisce ad una più ampia letteratura sulle dimensioni culturali del capitalismo.

Keywords

capitalismworkspacefamily-owned businessfood certificationshalalMade in Italy
Type
Research Articles
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , November 2021 , pp. 445 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy

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