Choose Your Enemies Well: Mapping, Managing, and Leveraging Rivalry

There is an important constraint that can be used to regulate mobility in competitive labor markets—the existence of a deeply felt rivalry between employers. Rivalry denotes a stable antagonistic relationship between companies, as exemplified by Apple and IBM in the 1980s. Analyzing data from the Palio di Siena (an ancient horse race in Siena, Italy), this article shows that direct moves between rivals are rare, accounting for less than 2% of all career moves in this context between 1743 and 2011. Rivalry constrains not only direct but also indirect moves to the ally of a rival or the rival of an ally. This article presents a framework describing how managers can harness rivalry: mapping rivalry, managing rivalry to capitalize on its positive aspects, and leveraging rivalry to adjust the level of competitive intensity.

‘Horse Race, Rich in Woes’: Orestes’ Chariot Race and the Erinyes in Sophocles’ Electra

This article offers a new, ironic reading of the false narrative of Orestes’ chariot accident in Sophocles’ Electra (680–763). It argues that the speech exploits an established connection between the ancestral evils of the Atreids and the thematic nexus of horses, chariot racing and disaster to evoke Orestes’ flight from the Erinyes following the matricide. Focusing on the language and structure of the narrative as well as drawing on other versions of the story (notably the surviving plays by Aeschylus and Euripides), the article demonstrates, in contrast to previous readings, that the speech is much more than an over-elaborate means to an end. Instead, in an ominous and profoundly ironic twist, the Paedagogus’ fictional narrative of the chariot race offers a possible vision of the trials awaiting the real Orestes. The matricide and murder, far from ending the ancestral woes of the Atreids, may well bring about Orestes’ pursuit by the Erinyes.

The palio of Siena and the contemporary contrada system

The palio of Siena, Italy, is a bareback horse race held in the city’s central square twice a year over the summer months. Over the centuries, this phenomenon has attracted the attention of scholars and visitors alike — perhaps more so than the 17 contrade, the city’s territorial communities that participate in the event. Our aim is twofold. First, we provide a primer on the contemporary contrada system. Second, we describe systematically the relationships between contrada pairs, which can be classified into one of three types: alliance, neutral relationship, and rivalry. To this end, we draw on published materials and on recent field-based research, including a cross-contrada survey of over 500 contrada members, a psychological item measuring the attitude of members towards the contrade, and the analysis of GPS data from an annual ritual. We find that membership size varies from a few hundred to several thousand individuals, a majority of whom are members from birth with familial and social ties within the contrada. We also find patterned variation with respect to relationship type in the attitude of contrada members, as well as in ritualized behaviour. We highlight the importance of the contrada phenomenon and the impact of group relationship on perceptions and behaviour.