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Journal Article
Markets as Politics: A Political-Cultural Approach to Market Institutions
Neil Fligstein
American Sociological Review
Vol. 61, No. 4 (Aug., 1996), pp. 656-673
Published
by: American Sociological Association
DOI: 10.2307/2096398
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2096398
Page Count: 18
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Topics: Business entities, Incumbents, Property rights, Social interaction, Economic crises, Social movements, Corporate mergers, Social structures, Capitalism, Economic competition
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Abstract
I use the metaphor "markets as politics" to create a sociological view of action in markets. I develop a conceptual view of the social institutions that comprise markets, discuss a sociological model of action in which market participants try to create stable worlds and find social solutions to competition, and discuss how markets and states are intimately linked. From these foundations, I generate propositions about how politics in markets work during various stages of market development--formation, stability, and transformation. At the formation of markets, when actors in firms are trying to create a status hierarchy that enforces noncompetitive forms of competition, political action resembles social movements. In stable markets, incumbent firms defend their positions against challengers and invaders. During periods of market transformation, invaders can reintroduce more fluid social-movement-like conditions.
American Sociological Review
© 1996 American Sociological Association