Trading Zone Research Articles

Hybrid vs. in-person learning: The displacement of boundaries in customized executive programs

Business schools tailor Customized Executive Programs (CEPs) to address the specific needs of organizations. This paper illustrates how expanding knowledge boundaries during CEP delivery enhances a participant's learning. Through multiple case studies, we address the question of how trading zone boundaries are displaced during the delivery of CEPs. We compared five in-person and five hybrid CEPs from across Latin America and Europe, comprising different industries, to answer this inquiry. The data was analyzed using qualitative-mixed methods techniques. Our findings reveal that, paradoxically, when tension arises within CEP's delivery trading zone, interactive experiences, diverse cultures, and physical proximity improve adult learning. Our research contributes to the field of executive education by expanding theory and highlighting three in-person behaviors that virtual environments alone cannot replicate: engaging in a cognitive-affective dialectic for enriched learning, knowledge boundary displacement through interpersonal dynamics, and integration of cross-cultural diversity.

The Trading Zones of Patient Participation: Public Issue Formation in Nondemocratic Situations

This article investigates public issue formation catalyzed by Russian patient organizations (POs) that aim to change healthcare rules and practices following patients’ needs and expectations. Drawing on the socio-ontological approach of science and technology studies, which posits that issues do not exist independently of efforts to address them, we identify three main stages of public issue formation in the studied situation: (1) from individual troubles to systemic problems, (2) from systemic problems to shared concerns, and (3) from shared concerns to public issues. Transforming individual troubles into public issues is neither easy nor straightforward. Yet, as the key actors in the process, POs use events like conferences and roundtables, and consultative spaces like public councils to engage with healthcare experts and state policymakers. We propose to view these events and spaces as trading zones. Facilitating public issue formation through trading zones where collaboration with other healthcare governance actors occurs without consensus over meanings and priorities, POs address suffering among patients in nondemocratic situations where expert knowledge dominates and public participation is generally unwelcome. The resulting issues are public in scope and capability of mobilizing action, yet articulated in a de-publicizing manner that conceals conflicting stakes and commitments.

Boundary objects and boundary work: Making exchange possible in a pluralistic economic geography

Economic Geography is a (very) diverse field. To some, this pluralism is, or has been, worrying. In this paper, we however track the discussion about Economic Geography as a field that would gain much from ‘engaged pluralism’. We argue that this requires some agreement on the central role of ‘geography’ and ‘the economic’ in economic geography, but also a catalog of ‘boundary concepts’. We discuss four candidates: (1) crisis and resilience, (2) innovation and diffusion, (3) path dependence and (4) sustainability. We believe that the idea of ‘trading zones’ in economic geography has the potential to modify disciplinary practice and solve some of the tensions between increasing research focus and specialization, and the mounting complexity of contemporary societal issues. We think that the presence of vivid trading zones under conditions of pluralism would make our discipline even more interesting, dynamic, and, we would say, fun.

Collaborative Coding Cultures: How Journalists Use GitHub as a Trading Zone

As the use of “big data” in journalism has become an increasing practice in recent years, its exercise is no longer limited to newsrooms in Europe and North America. The prevalence of coding cultures and collaboration in newsrooms worldwide has risen, in part to tackle challenges related to information overflow. This collaboration has been facilitated partly by the popularization of low-cost code hosting platforms such as GitHub. GitHub is a well-known public code management system with a significant potential for transparency and collaboration between communities. This study aims to map how newsrooms employ GitHub as a trading zone for collaborative journalism. We analyze the GitHub activities of leading media outlets from 27 countries. Based on content analysis of the newsroom’s repositories and users’ profiles, we found that media organizations in the United Kingdom and the United States continue to be the primary code producers in GitHub. However, our results show that newsrooms in developing countries benefit from these codes by stargazing these projects. The results of this article have important implications for understanding how newsrooms across the globe use GitHub for collaboration and the role journalistic code plays in bringing together various collaborative initiatives and actors in journalism.

Options on temporary water allocation rights and their pricing

AbstractThis paper presents a methodology for defining the spot price of temporary water allocation rights for trading zones within the water market in the southern Murray–Darling Basin situated in Australia. The historical spot price is then used to calibrate a stochastic process depicting the dynamics of the water price, allowing the computation of prices of options on the underlying water price with the aim of producing reference prices to catalyse an options trading market. The most suitable stochastic model representing the water price dynamics is selected through comparing the option prices generated from four different models. Using the selected stochastic model, the most liquid trading zone in the Murray–Darling Basin water market (Zone 7) is used to demonstrate how the methodologies developed in the paper are used to calibrate the log‐mean stochastic model representing the stochastic spot price dynamics and compute prices for call and put options on the underlying water spot prices. Sensitivities of the water options prices to market input data can be calculated from the formulae provided in the paper. The results presented in this work can serve as a reference tool by industry practitioners and the farming community in using options for effective risk management of water resources.

Water Market Functionality: Evidence From the Australian Experience

AbstractMarket approaches to natural resource management have gained popularity over the last few decades. This study provides an encompassing analysis of the water market in the southern Murray‐Darling Basin (sMDB), Australia, in order to evaluate its performance and the importance of having various types of water rights traded in the market. We do so by investigating a set of market attributes, including price and price volatility, traded volume, number and the average size of transactions, and net import across a number of trading zones in the southern Murray‐Darling Basin. Our findings show that the price mechanism in the water market functions as intended, as the water prices signal the level of scarcity and reflect value that can be derived from water resources. Other factors like crop structure and institutional settings also play important roles in explaining differences in water market outcomes across the considered trading zones within the sMDB market. Overall, our findings document that water markets serve well their fundamental purpose in water resource management to allocate water toward its economically‐highest‐valued uses, and that various types of water rights traded in the market are meeting heterogenous needs of market participants in managing water supply and use.

In the Trading Zone

In this article, we describe and discuss the negotiations and processes of carrying out a science curriculum-based research project with multiple stakeholders, including an 8th grade science teacher/soccer coach, and 24 student-participants from a middle school in the South-eastern United States. Drawing on the theoretical notion of trading zones, we focus on the negotiations, commitments, and collaborations that took place in order to: (a) teach science to Latino students in the context of an after-school soccer program, (b) develop curriculum and (c) carry out a research program in which both material things and physical spaces are recognized as central to this process. Our study presents these experiences and processes in relation to the characteristics of the human and non-human elements involved in this work. We conclude with a set of recommendations for pre-service and in-service science teachers developing science activities as part of a broader curriculum and teaching science to middle school students in multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multicultural settings.

A method for determining the maximum P2P penetration considering stakeholder benefits

AbstractThe rise of distributed energy resources has empowered consumers to become prosumers, generating their own electricity. This trend has led to the development of peer‐to‐peer (P2P) energy trading, where P2P participants trade energy among themselves. Since the integration of P2P energy trading can influence retail markets in distribution systems, the focus is on its effects on retail markets. Therefore, this paper proposes a method to determine the maximum P2P penetration levels on distribution systems while considering the effects on the benefits of stakeholders, including P2P participants, retail customers, and distribution system operators. The proposed method also assesses the impact of P2P energy trading on two schemes: the impact on buy‐from‐grid prices for retail customers and the impact on social benefits. The analysis revealed three distinct zones of photovoltaic and P2P penetration: the P2P restricted zone, the P2P with curtailment zone, and the P2P free trading zone. By examining these zones, the maximum P2P penetration levels—which ensure that buy‐from‐grid prices and social benefits remain within acceptable thresholds—can be determined. This study enables DSOs to find the maximum P2P penetration level at which a balance of stakeholders’ benefits can be achieved and non‐beneficial effects on retail customers do not occur.

Alignment Work and Epistemic Cultures

This article closes the special issue Alignment Work for the Movement of Knowledge. It argues that the concept of alignment work, through making it possible to think about collaborations of different epistemic cultures, provides a useful addition to Knorr Cetina’s (1999) concept, keeping it relevant for current concerns in Science and Technology Studies (STS). The article discusses central issues in STS, concerning how different academic and professional cultures exchange knowledge, including trading zones, boundary objects, and aspects of Actor-Network Theory, alongside an interest in epistemic cultures and knowledge production. We argue and demonstrate how knowledge exchange can be understood through epistemic differences and their persistence in collaborative work.

Collaborative integration or policy diversification: the influence of policy synergy on regional green development

Enhancing the green and high-quality development of urban in China and exploring the synergistic effects of multiple policy implementations is the key to effectively playing the leading role of policies. To explore the synergistic effects and driving mechanisms of dual policies on regional green development, this study selected panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2020. Employing Multi-period difference-in-differences and Mediation effects models, the research systematically explores the synergistic effects of these dual-pilot policies on urban green and high-quality development. The findings of this study reveal a significant improvement in the level of urban green development under the influence of the dual-pilot policy. After conducting a series of rigorous tests for robustness, this conclusion remains valid. This improvement is primarily attributed to the stimulation of technological innovation capabilities and the optimization of industrial structures within the cities. Compared to the carbon emissions trading city single pilot and free trade zone city single pilot, the dual pilot effect of carbon emissions trading and free trade zone city is stronger. The carbon emissions trading city pilot and free trade zone city pilot have a synergistic effect on regional green and high-quality development. This research provides valuable theoretical insights to guide the planning of pilot cities, facilitating the realization of both high-quality economic development and sustainability objectives.

Expertise, trading zones and the planning system: A case study of an energy-from-biomass plant

Planning disputes are sites of contestation in which science-based regulations come into conflict with the place-based knowledge of local communities. The procedural and often technical nature of these regulations means that these controversies are marked by an asymmetry of resources that is often experienced by community groups as an asymmetry in credibility. In short, the expertise of developers is generally accepted as such, whilst the knowledge claimed by citizens is dismissed as ‘anecdotal’ or ‘NIMBYism’. In this article, we make the argument that the asymmetries of expertise are less stark than the current system typically allows and that recognising and accommodating this would improve the planning system by enhancing the representation and inclusion of community voices. We explore this position by using a case study of the construction of a Energy-from-Biomass plant in South Wales. Drawing from 30 qualitative interviews, we maintain that the planning process has the potential to function as one of a network of ‘trading zones’ in which different communities enact their rights and have their claims to knowledge and expertise recognised. Crucial to this argument is understanding that the levels and kinds of expertise that different parties bring to the interactions are more than just matters of attribution: community groups can have genuine expertise.

Science in the Trading Zone: Interdisciplinarity and the ‘Environment’

AbstractInterdisciplinarity continues to be a focus and method for complex social and environmental challenges. This paper explores how the School of Environmental Sciences (ENV) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) which was founded through the idea of scientific interdisciplinarity operated in practice to create new knowledge about a new object of concern, the ‘environment’. Using the ‘trading zone’ concept, the social and epistemic processes behind making scientific interdisciplinarity a material and institutional reality are uncovered, and to what extent interdisciplinary knowledge was actually produced. This paper concludes that interdisciplinary processes can be effective in dealing with complex challenges but often rely on the institutional and social dynamics of the researchers involved. Historicising interdisciplinarity in knowledge‐making settings can go some way in supporting new interdisciplinary endeavours associated with environmental and climate research.

Yhteistyöverkostot vuorovaikutuksen vaihtoalueina perhesosiaalityön ja lastensuojelun sosiaalityön palvelutarpeen arvioinnissa

Trading zones as a social network in the field of social work with children and families This article focuses on social networks in child and family social work. Networks were analysed from the point of view of a trading zone and theory of network management. Data was collected from social welfare case file documents of 265 children and their families. Networks were examined in the documents based on the social worker’s assessment of the needs of children and families. The results show the links between face-to-face communication and verbal and written communication. The multi-agency networks are broad and multifaceted, consisting of actors in and outside social and health organisations. In short, the results indicate the importance of knowing the network structures in social welfare and using this information at the client level and in the leadership and management of social welfare organisations.

The common operating picture as a collaborative governance tool for urban resilience

AbstractThrough analysis of the narratives of participants to the London Common Operating Picture (COP), this study discusses the “information warehouse” and the “trading zone” theoretical perspectives on the COP that consider it, respectively, as an information system to share common information on a crisis or as a relational space of learning in which common meanings enable decision‐making and coordination. The trading zone approach has started to examine its role as a coordination tool, but there is little empirical research on how it can foster network's collaboration. Through an exploration of the COP participants' positions as boundary spanners, this study puts forward the trading zone perspective, showing that in London it has become a regular mechanism of collaboration and coordination. It argues that boundary spanners operate at multiple boundaries that enable network's collaboration and coordination, and the relational character of the COP create bonds of trust that foster collaboration and common understandings on the role of communication, collaboration, information sharing, and coordination for the security of all. We show that the COP is a relational space that creates a sense of belonging to a common community of security that believes in the role of networks' information sharing and collaboration for urban resilience.

How research programs come apart: The example of supersymmetry and the disunity of physics

Abstract According to Peter Galison, the coordination of different “subcultures” within a scientific field happens through local exchanges within “trading zones.” In his view, the workability of such trading zones is not guaranteed, and science is not necessarily driven towards further integration. In this paper, we develop and apply quantitative methods (using semantic, authorship, and citation data from scientific literature), inspired by Galison’s framework, to the case of the disunity of high-energy physics. We give prominence to supersymmetry, a concept that has given rise to several major but distinct research programs in the field, such as the formulation of a consistent theory of quantum gravity or the search for new particles. We show that “theory” and “phenomenology” in high-energy physics should be regarded as distinct theoretical subcultures, between which supersymmetry has helped sustain scientific “trades.” However, as we demonstrate using a topic model, the phenomenological component of supersymmetry research has lost traction and the ability of supersymmetry to tie these subcultures together is now compromised. Our work supports that even fields with an initially strong sentiment of unity may eventually generate diverging research programs and demonstrates the fruitfulness of the notion of trading zones for informing quantitative approaches to scientific pluralism.

Rethinking a Danish information state: information in the trading zone

In this article, I will discuss how the information state provides a new way of understanding the absolute Danish-Norwegian state (1660–1814). Following recent research about the role of communication in the Danish-Norwegian state, I will argue for an understanding of the information state that stresses the population as a formative part of state building. The studies favour a communicative approach, which includes circulation of information as an integral part. My contribution to the discussion of the information state emphasises that exchange of information between state and population implies negotiations and the use of genre systems in a trading zone. The meeting between ideology and everyday practices and cultures is a negotiation that shows how ideologies, purposes, and ideas are sifted and negotiated through concrete practices that are formed by but also shape technologies and materialities.

Formation of Industrial and Logistics Hub in the Border Areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Central Asia is a strategic region of the China-Europe continental bridge. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has seriously affected international supply chains, which has led to the intensification of the development of alternative corridors and the construction of new regional logistics hubs along them. The purpose of the research is to determine, on the basis of these sources, the factors of the formation of industrial and logistics hubs, as well as the directions of their development on the example of the border regions of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In preparing this article, a mixed research strategy was used, which implies quantitative and qualitative methods. It consists not only of the systematic study of the literature on the research topic and statistical information but also involves the implementation of theoretical studies, comparison, generalization and analysis of the results, argumentation and formulation of conclusions. The study identified the main constraining factors for the development of such centres delays in customs inspection, inconsistency in the legal framework of the transportation process, underdevelopment of infrastructure, low level of digitalization and the use of information systems, the use of non-tariff barriers, low level of digitalization and the use of information systems. The creation and development of integrated transport services based on a digital platform will speed up this process. In addition, taking into account these factors, the components of an industrial and logistics hub are proposed: an industrial zone, a logistics zone, a trading zone, a certification zone with appropriate services, as well as a digital platform as a link between all components.

ПРІОРИТЕТНІ ЗАДАЧІ СМАРТИЗАЦІЇ ШОПІНГУ У ТРАДИЦІЙНОМУ ГІПЕРМАРКЕТІ ЗА ПРИНЦИПАМИ RETAIL 4.0

Retail 4.0 is the newest approach to Industry 4.0-based retail organization. Industry 4.0 involves the industry transformation to the most robotic production, which is controlled by intelligent systems based on cyber-physical devices with usage of Internet of things, cloud information resources, big data processing, and virtual reality. The paper proposes two promising tasks for the implementation of Retail 4.0 technologies in the practices of traditional hypermarkets and supermarkets with low investments. The first task concerns the optimization of the buyer's route, and the second task concerns the optimization of the route of the store employee who completes the online order. It is assumed that the trolleys with RFID-modules and a system of radio frequency identification of the location of devices are available in a supermarket. Task of routine optimization for a buyer with a smart trolley is reduced to a generalized traveling salesman task. The possibility of dynamic adaptation of the route due to changes in the availability of aisles and stock of goods is considered. Three monetization ways of the proposed routine optimization service are proposed. They are based either on direct payment by the buyer for optimal routing service, or indirect payment through increased loyalty or the ability to promote additional products through the recommendation module. Recommendations are provided at hand, i.e. directly in the trading zone near the area of visibility to the recommending product. The second task concerns the optimal completion of online orders by store employees. In addition to the possibility of dynamic adaptation of the route, to save time, it is additionally suggested to complete two similar small orders at the same time. The principles by which it is possible to identify the most similar pairs of orders from the point of view of their picking routes have been formulated.

Innovation in strategic planning: Social innovation and co-production under a common analytical framework

The article is aimed at discussing social innovation and co-production under a common analytical framework in order to contribute, without attempts of comprehensiveness, to the debate on how to indicate new opportunities to foster innovation in strategic planning. In the Paper co-production and social innovation are considered as mutual supporting elements in the creation of ‘trading zones’: spaces of strong interaction for mobilizing varied (and also conflicting) collective intelligence; middle ground spaces of confrontation able to institutionalize co-production and scale-up social innovation, in a long-term process that might transform how local institutions and strategic planning operate. Within this framework, the case study of Bologna in Italy is discussed, highlighting criticalities and opportunities in a city that has invested in specific planning mechanisms aimed at linking coproduction and social innovation within a common policy effort.

Techniques for overcoming difficult interdisciplinary dialogue in expert panels: lessons for interactional expertise

Which techniques and skills can be used to overcome the obstacle of dialogue between scientists in different disciplines? Drawing on Gorman’s book on trading zones and Collins and Evans’ thinking on interactional expertise, this article analyses the work by individuals to manage five interdisciplinary panels commissioned by French ministries. It observes that these panel managers have different techniques to open, construct and close the debate. These techniques, which condition the submission of the final report, call for skills that managers acquire over the course of their experiences in trading zones. Implications of findings for the formation and management of interdisciplinary expert groups and for the concept of interactional expertise are discussed.