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Prelims

Franck Barès (HEC Montreal, Canada)
Bernard Cova (Kedge Business School, France)
Anicet Nemani (BIMSTR, Cameroon)

Start-ups and the Mobilization of Social Interactions

ISBN: 978-1-80455-609-2, eISBN: 978-1-80455-606-1

Publication date: 12 June 2023

pdf (1.6 MB) ePub (313 KB) Article view Figure view Cited (6) cite article

Citation

Barès, F., Cova, B. and Nemani, A. (2023), "Prelims", Start-ups and the Mobilization of Social Interactions, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-ix. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-606-120231011

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023 Franck Barès, Bernard Cova and Anicet Nemani

Half Title Page

START-UPS AND THE MOBILIZATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

Endorsement Page

“The world is suffering from a range of political and financial crises and organizations today fresh ideas to help them rethink social and institutional change. In response, many companies are moving to a purpose-driven model. This book is an unprecedented rallying cry for change that builds on over three decades’ worth of research and business ingenuity into the idea that business needs to operate with genuine purpose and community. Start-ups and the Mobilization of Social Interactions isn’t just for entrepreneurs, either. It is for everyone who wants to understand how to build a new way to do business that harnesses the power of social connectedness, community and the spirit of activism. Everyone who is excited about the positive possibilities of enterprise should read this book!”

Robert V. Kozinets, Professor, University of Southern California, USA

“With this volume, the three authors offer an approach that combines the development of a social movement and the emergence of an entrepreneurial project. The book offers an interesting and original key for understanding this combination that has not yet been sufficiently investigated, but is rich in implications for today's world. It also highlights the close relationship between consumption and entrepreneurship phenomena which are addressed separately in traditional management approaches but that are today increasingly connected.”

Simone Guercini, Professor, University of Florence, Italy

“Based on extensive research, this book's authors share a clear and simple approach to enable success in high-impact projects. This is an inspiring read for entrepreneurs and allies – coaches, consultants mentors – alike.”

Dafna Kariv, Professor, Adelson School of Entrepreneurship, Reichman University, Israel

Title Page

START-UPS AND THE MOBILIZATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS

BY

FRANCK BARÈS

HEC Montreal, Canada

Bernard Cova

Kedge Business School, France

AND

ANICET NEMANI

BIMSTR, Cameroon

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

Copyright © 2023 Franck Barès, Bernard Cova and Anicet Nemani. Published under exclusive license by Emerald Publishing Limited. Adaptation of “Start up tribu. Comment entreprendre avec sa communauté” published in French by EMS, Caen (2021).

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in these chapters are not necessarily those of the Author or the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80455-609-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-606-1 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-608-5 (Epub)

Contents

List of Figures and Tables ix
Introduction 1
1. Understanding Brand Communities 5
A Contemporary History of the Notion of Community 5
The Prehistory: Subcultures and Fandoms 6
The Era of Tribes 7
The Invention of Online Communities 8
The Advent of Communities of Practices 10
The Rising Power of Brand Communities 11
Support for Communities: Social Networks 13
Brand Communities 15
Constructing a Community Around a Brand 19
Capitalizing on an Existing Community United Around the Brand 20
Co-opting an Existing Community With No Initial Link to the Brand 24
Creating a Community Around a New Brand 25
2. Defending a Cause and Launching a Movement 33
Why Are Individuals Today Attracted by the Opportunity to Defend a Cause? 34
Why Do People Today Join a Movement to Defend a Cause? 36
Improving the World 37
Saving Whatever Can Still Be Saved 40
Launching a Movement and Bringing About the Emergence of a Community 41
The Difficult Transition to the Creation of a Business 45
3. Recruiting Volunteers 49
Volunteering and the Changes That It Has Undergone 50
From Brand Ambassadors to Brand Volunteers 52
Being a Volunteer for a Start-up Brand 56
The Levers of Volunteering 60
4. Encouraging Interactions and Sharing Stories 65
A Brand Model Named N.A.M.E. 66
N for Narrative: Stories Instead of Histories 67
A for Ambiguity: Contradiction Instead of a Coherent Positioning 68
M for Mystery: A Permanent Grey Area Instead of Full Transparency 69
E for Entertainment: Giving Consumers the Pleasure of Talking About It 70
Authentic Life Stories 71
Online Rallying Cries and Hashtags 76
Battles and Jackpot Fundraisers 79
5. Developing Rituals 85
Rites: From the Sacred to the Profane 86
Commercial Micro-rites and Macro-rites 89
Brandfests: A Contemporary Macro-rite Both Online and Offline 91
Start-ups and the Creation of Rites 94
The SoulCycle Micro-rite: The Collective Blowing Out of Candles 94
The Tough Mudder Micro-rite: Swapping Photos of People Wearing a Brand Headband 94
Silent Night, a Silent Macro-rite 95
The Teddy Bear Toss, a Charitable Macro-rite 95
Rewriting Rituals 96
6. Adding Linking Value to the Value Proposition 101
From Social Connectivity to Linking Value 102
Linking Value: A Consumer Co-production 105
Reasons for Doing Together With Others Things That a Person Can Do By Themself 107
The Consequences of Not Generating Any Linking Value 111
7. Evolving From a Community Movement to an Entrepreneurial Project 115
Anicet, BIMSTR and the Z’experts’ Community 116
Championing a Cause and Starting a Movement 118
Recruiting Volunteers and Orchestrating the Work They Do Together 120
Fostering Online and Offline Interactions 122
The BIMSTR Challenge 122
Facebook's Super Fan Badge 123
Developing BIMSTR Rituals 124
Making Connectivity Central to the Value Proposition 126
Project Founder Feedback: Transitioning From Seminal Struggles to Hohaaa Marketing 127
8. Community 1st – Start-up 2nd 133
Guidelines: Key Process Stage Factors 134
Stage 1 Milestones: Advocating a Cause and Launching a Movement 134
Stage 2 Milestones: Recruiting Volunteers 136
Stage 3 Milestones: Fostering Interactions and Sharing Stories 138
Stage 4 Milestones: Developing Rituals 139
Stage 5 Milestones: Inserting Linking Value into the Value Proposition 141
Post-launch, the Community will Be Both Essential But Also Burdensome 142
Glossier: When a Company Detaches From its Community 143
Filoni: Ongoing Symbiosis With a Community 145
9. Achieving a Different Kind of Entrepreneurship 149
Contributions and Limitations of the Business Models 150
The Business Model Canvas: Putting a Value Proposition at the Heart of a Business Model 150
Lean Canvas: Iterative Dynamics Associated With a Business Model 151
Community Models in the Service of Entrepreneurial Projects 153
The Double Temporality of Community and Company Development 155
The Junction Between the Two Models and the Social Value Proposition 157
New Statutory Forms That Are more Adapted 160

List of Figure and Table

Figure
Fig. 1. Combining Communal and Entrepreneurial Development. 156

Table
Table 1. The Ducati Model of Tribal Marketing. 23
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