Status signals : a sociological study of market competition / Joel M. Podolny.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Podolny, Joel M.

Series:

A Princeton University Press e-book

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Sociological aspects.

Economics.

Markets--Social aspects.

Markets.

Social status.

Social networks.

Social values.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2008, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why are elite jewelers reluctant to sell turquoise, despite strong demand? Why did leading investment bankers shun junk bonds for years, despite potential profits? Status Signals is the first major sociological examination of how concerns about status affect market competition. Starting from the basic premise that status pervades the ties producers form in the marketplace, Joel Podolny shows how anxieties about status influence whom a producer does (or does not) accept as a partner, the price a producer can charge, the ease with which a producer enters a market, how the producer's inventions are received, and, ultimately, the market segments the producer can (and should) enter. To achieve desired status, firms must offer more than strong past performance and product quality--they must also send out and manage social and cultural signals. Through detailed analyses of market competition across a broad array of industries--including investment banking, wine, semiconductors, shipping, and venture capital--Podolny demonstrates the pervasive impact of status. Along the way, he shows how corporate strategists, tempted by the profits of a market that would negatively affect their status, consider not only whether to enter the market but also whether they can alter the public's perception of the market. Podolny also examines the different ways in which a firm can have status. Wal-Mart, for example, has low status among the rich as a place to shop, but high status among the rich as a place to invest. Status Signals provides a systematic understanding of market dynamics that have--until now--not been fully appreciated.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction. An Emergent Perspective from an Emergent Field

Chapter 1. Status, Reputation, and Quality

Chapter 2. The Matthew Effect (Un)Bounded

Chapter 3. Getting More for Less in the Investment Banking Industry

Chapter 4. To Mingle or Not to Mingle with the Hoi Polloi: That Is The Question

Chapter 5. The Medium, the Message, and the Signal

Chapter 6. Status And Invention

Chapter 7. Embeddedness And Entry

Chapter 8. An Evolutionary Perspective On Status Segregation

Chapter 9. Uncertainty Reconsidered

Chapter 10. Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-277) and index.

ISBN:

9786612964992

9781400837878

1400837871

9781282964990

1282964992

OCLC:

705945414