Study of the lived experience of Social Control in Megamalls of Tabriz city

Golabi, Fatemeh; Boudaghi, Ali; Semsarieh, Hadi

doi:10.22059/jrd.2025.396207.668924

Study of the lived experience of Social Control in Megamalls of Tabriz city

Authors

¹ Professor of Sociology and Member of the Women and Family Studies Department, Institute of Social Research, University of Tabriz, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

² , Department of Sociology, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

³ Master of Science in Sociology, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

10.22059/jrd.2025.396207.668924

Abstract

Today, megamalls are regarded as centers that influence the lives of citizens. They implement a variety of policies to accomplish their commercial and consumer objectives, in addition to fostering a fun and enjoyable environment. This paper examines the diverse aspects of social control in these institutions, which are responsible for the establishment and implementation of the aforementioned policies.
The research method is qualitative and phenomenological, and 31 interviews were conducted in 2024 at four large retail centers in Tabriz, Iran: Atlas, Laleh Park, Setareh Baran, and Ipak Palace. The interview procedure was conducted until theoretical saturation was achieved, and the results were analyzed using a three-stage coding method (open, axial, and selective). The sampling method was purposeful.
Mass control in megamalls, which encompasses the axial codes of social communication control, consumption control, and traffic control, and individual control in megamalls, which includes the axial codes of dressing control, behavior control, and reorientation of individual tastes, were the two general categories into which the findings were split. It was determined that the social control policies implemented by these institutions have many positive and negative effects on different segments.
One must be cautious of the repercussions of deceiving citizens into indoor locations under the guise of capitalist ideology, given their commercial and consumer objectives. Additionally, the aforementioned process must be subjected to a rigorous scientific and principled review.

Keywords

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