City context and subjective career success: How does creative workers’ need for recognition filter city identity?
通过对意大利雷焦艾米利亚140名创意工作者的定性研究，发现主观职业成功源于对认可的诉求，而该诉求通过过滤城市身份来实现，且随工作经验变化。
How do creative workers draw on their city context as they interpret their subjective career success over time? This article aims to answer this question with a qualitative study of 140 creative workers in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The results illuminate how subjective career success stems from a need for recognition that draws on a city’s identity. Mobilising Lotman’s concept of semiosphere, we propose that creative workers use city identity to understand what ‘soft’ factors they can harness from the city context. They filter city identity based on three recognition-related needs that are contingent on their level of work experience. Our contribution is threefold. First, we provide a nuanced view of the social and symbolic context in which careers are embedded, highlighting its multilayered, multivocal and multimodal nature. Second, we provide a fine-grained understanding of the interplay between an individual’s career need for recognition and their interpretation of city identity. Third, we shed light on recognition as a facet of subjective career success, which is particularly relevant to creative workers.