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How Can an Oppressed Social Group Gain the Right to Participate in a Field

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How Can an Oppressed Social Group Gain the Right to Participate in a Field How Can an Oppressed Social Group Gain the Right to Participate in a Field : An Investigation of First Nations in the Canadian Gambling Field by Chang Lu A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Strategic Management and Organization School of Business University of Alberta ©Chang Lu, 2019 ABSTRACT Prior research on organizational fields has suggested that the arrival of new actors is an important exogenous source of field change, as it can trigger the transformation of field boundaries, governance, and the distribution of power and interests. However, a majority of studies tend to focus on powerful, dominant actors as new entrants, such as corporations, professional associations, and government entities. In this dissertation, I shift the focus to oppressed social groups, and explore how oppressed groups can gain the right to participate in mature fields. Specifically, I draw from the literature on tensions within oppressed groups, regulative institutions, and stigma, (as most, if not all, oppressed groups carry stigma, and stigma often plays the role of a barrier to social inclusion), and investigate how oppressed groups overcome the hurdles of intra-group tension, existing field-level regulative institutions, and stigma when attempting to participate in mature fields. Adopting a qualitative historical design, I investigate how First Nations—an indigenous population whose ancestors are predominately indigenous—gained the right to participate in the Canadian gambling field. My interpretative analysis of documents and interview data, supplemented by understandings of indigenous culture, history, and worldviews, reveals that oppressed groups may engage in three overarching processes to accomplish field participation: forging in-group consensus, regulative maneuvering, and resourcing stigma. This study contributes to the field literature by revealing a “bold” pathway by which actors with low resources and power accomplish purposeful actions in mature fields. It also highlights how adhering to or promoting a stigmatized identity, rather than acculturating to the mainstream, can support this process. In addition, this study shows that the arrival of new actors may result in the expansion of field boundaries but field governance may remain intact. Overall, this study contributes to the stigma literature by demonstrating how social groups can use stigma as a resource, and how stigma that is neither concealable nor revealable II can be managed. Further, this study sheds light on how those at the bottom of society can address social inequality through self-initiated measures. Keywords: Oppressed Social Groups; Field; Entering Fields; Tensions within Oppressed Groups; Regulative Institutions; Stigma; First Nations; Casino; Inequality III PREFACE This dissertation represents an original research project conducted by Chang Lu. It has not been published as a book or in a journal. During the process of writing this dissertation, I received a graduate student scholarship from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute. However, the Institute was not involved in any part of the research. This project received research ethics approval under the title [No. Pro00064279] “Dynamics of Contested Practice Diffusion: An investigation of First Nation casinos in Canada.” Except for the interview transcriptions, for which I hired a freelancer transcriber, I conducted all the other activities of the research by myself. I received ongoing feedback from my supervisor, Professor Trish Reay, and my committee members, Professor Michael Lounsbury and Professor Joel Gehman. However, any errors are mine. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I feel deeply grateful for all the help that I received from indigenous peoples during this research process. Without their help, this dissertation would not have been possible. In particular, I thank Dr. Patricia Makokis and her family for introducing me to their community, for being open to an outsider like me who did not know anything about indigenous people, and for connecting me with the indigenous leaders who participated in this study. I would not have been able to complete this dissertation if I had not met Dr. Patricia Makokis and her family. Second, I would like to thank all the indigenous people that participated in my study. For many indigenous people, talking about the painful past means reliving the pain. I am very grateful that they participated in my study. I am equally grateful to my supervisor, Professor Trish Reay, for her ongoing support, encouragement and advice. In the past five years, she not only taught me how to do research, but also role-modeled how to live a fulfilling, balanced and happy life, which highlights the meaning of successful education. Her life wisdom has greatly influenced me, and will be an invaluable asset for me in the future. I also thank my committee members, Professor Michael Lounsbury and Professor Joel Gehman, for their insightful feedback and support. Certainly, I am grateful to my family for the freedom and quiet love they give to me. Completion of this dissertation was only possible because of their love and support. Lastly, I want to thank and acknowledge myself. This dissertation was an extremely difficult journey for me. As a non-native English speaker undertaking qualitative research in a completely foreign setting, only I myself know how hard it has been. I have often thought that doing this dissertation has been as difficult for me as researching the oil or mining industry in Tibet would be for a White Canadian person. Not only would this person have to understand the nuances of Chinese culture, history, and politics, but he or she would also need to understand the Tibetan culture, history, and worldviews, and the extremely complicated relationship between the Chinese government and Tibet. In addition, if not more difficult, he or she would need to write down the findings using culturally nuanced, politically correct, and academically accurate Chinese. Looking back at this dissertation journey, there have been days when I felt I was manually moving Mount Everest, and that I would never succeed. However, in spite of those dark moments, I persevered. I continued to push and did not give up. Now that I have almost completed this dissertation and the five-year PhD journey, I feel I have become a much stronger person inside. I am proud of the personal growth I have gained through working on this dissertation, and I believe the inner strength or toughness that I have accumulated during the process will help me chase higher dreams. V TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ..................................................................................... 13 The Entrance of New Actors into Mature Fields .................................................................................... 14 Oppressed Groups Gaining the Right to Field Participation ................................................................... 19 Challenge 1: Intra-group Tensions ...................................................................................................... 23 Challenge 2: Existing Field-level Regulative Institutions .................................................................. 26 Challenge 3: Stigma ............................................................................................................................ 30 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 41 Research Setting...................................................................................................................................... 42 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 52 Research Ethics ....................................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................... 82 1: Forging In-group Consensus ............................................................................................................... 85 Redirecting In-Group Tension Toward the Governments .................................................................. 90 Enacting Communal Decision-Making ............................................................................................... 91 Antagonizing and yet Engaging the Government ............................................................................... 94 2: Regulative Maneuvering ................................................................................................................... 103 Attempting Regulative Inclusion ...................................................................................................... 105 Forcing the Enactment of Competing Legal-political Frameworks .................................................. 107 Compromising the Power of the Competing Legal-political Frameworks ....................................... 111 3: Resourcing Stigma ...........................................................................................................................
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