Patrik Aspers
University of St. Gallen, Research Institute of Sociology, Faculty Member
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Economics, Political Economy, Regulation, Market, Market economy, and 14 moreRegulierung, Markt, Wirtschaftssoziologie, Sociology of Economics, National State, Wirtschaft, Staat, Visual Anthropology and Sociology, Volkswirtschaftslehre, Market Mechanism, Marktwirtschaft, descriptive study, Marktordnung, and Market organization
ZusammenfassungIn Theorien des Ökonomischen wird die Frage nach der Entstehung von Märkten vergleichsweise randständig behandelt. Wie der Artikel zeigt, lassen sich die dominanten Erklärungsmuster in drei Gruppen zusammenfassen, die... more
ZusammenfassungIn Theorien des Ökonomischen wird die Frage nach der Entstehung von Märkten vergleichsweise randständig behandelt. Wie der Artikel zeigt, lassen sich die dominanten Erklärungsmuster in drei Gruppen zusammenfassen, die jeweils einem idealtypischen Leitkonzept der Marktgestaltung folgen: wechselseitige Anpassung, Organisation und soziale Felder. Während Theorien der wechselseitigen Anpassung von der quasi-natürlichen Genese von Märkten im Prozess reziproker Anerkennungsprozesse der Marktteilnehmer ausgehen, fokussieren Organisationstheorien die bewusste Gestaltung relevanter Institutionen, insbesondere, aber nicht nur durch den Staat. Die durch Bourdieu und Fligstein inspirierte Theorie sozialer Felder nimmt die außerökonomische Einbettung von Marktentstehungsprozessen in den Blick, liefert jedoch keinen genuinen Beitrag zur Interpretation solcher Prozesse im engeren Sinne. Der eingehende analytische Vergleich der jeweiligen Literatur zeigt die Anwendbarkeit der jeweili...
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Interdisciplinary contributions from sociology, economics, political science, and marketing Presents empirical studies of both financial and some unusual markets - wine, art, fashion Pioneering wor ...
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The purpose of this article is to analyze the relation between scientific knowledge in the form of theories and the world that such theories are about. The focus is on market theories. I argue that everyday knowledge, conceptualized using... more
The purpose of this article is to analyze the relation between scientific knowledge in the form of theories and the world that such theories are about. The focus is on market theories. I argue that everyday knowledge, conceptualized using the notion of "lifeworld," is the bedrock of scientific knowledge. I also make two distinctions, one between types of markets and one between principles of order in markets. There are two different types of markets, fixed-role markets and switch-role markets, and no existing theory can be used to explain both of them. In fixed-role markets, such as a producer market of garments, actors are identified as either sellers or buyers. In switch-role markets, such as the stock exchange market or currency market, actors are not identified with one role. The other distinction is between standard and status markets. In a status market, order is maintained because the identities of actors on both sides of the market are ranked according to status, w...
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This paper uses the work and employs the tools of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger to attempt to improve sociology. Heidegger’s thinking is employed primarily to undo a paradox of sociology. Sociology focuses on the social, but... more
This paper uses the work and employs the tools of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger to attempt to improve sociology. Heidegger’s thinking is employed primarily to undo a paradox of sociology. Sociology focuses on the social, but starts with the assumption of essentially non-social egos that somehow generate a social world. This ‘egologism’ has caused sociology to occupy itself with a number of pseudo-problems. We argue that Heidegger develops what we call a ‘socio-ontological’ approach, which means that human beings are always already social and dwell originarily in a social world. To present this ‘social foundation for sociology’ is the contribution of this paper.
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Philosophy and Dialogue
If it had not been for the photo of this sexy Swedish babe on front of this book, I would have thought that Markets in Fashion was going to be about how the thinking of Harrison White, Ron Burt, Wayne Baker, and Richard Swedberg has... more
If it had not been for the photo of this sexy Swedish babe on front of this book, I would have thought that Markets in Fashion was going to be about how the thinking of Harrison White, Ron Burt, Wayne Baker, and Richard Swedberg has diffused through a population of ...
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the making of markets. The paper identifies two ideal-typical processes in which markets are made – organized making and spontaneous making – which are often combined in reality. Organized making is... more
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the making of markets. The paper identifies two ideal-typical processes in which markets are made – organized making and spontaneous making – which are often combined in reality. Organized making is defined as a process in which at least two actors come together and decide on the order of the market. There are two ways of organized making of markets, called “state-governed market making” and “self-governed market making.” Spontaneous making is defined as a process in which the market is an unintended result of actors’ activities. The attention sociologists have paid to the issue of market making has been directed largely at organized market making. This paper develops a sociological approach that integrates both spontaneous and organized market making, and identifies three phases of market making. This involves a discussion of empirical cases, and seven hypotheses are presented that make predictions for the two types of market making. The pape...
To live life in the spheres of life Hans L-Zetterberg 1927-2014 (has works published, sociologist)
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The present article discusses how an ethical and environmental labelling system can be implemented in fashion garment markets. Consumers act in markets that provide them with more information than their limited cognitive capacity allows... more
The present article discusses how an ethical and environmental labelling system can be implemented in fashion garment markets. Consumers act in markets that provide them with more information than their limited cognitive capacity allows them to handle. Ethical and environmental labelling in markets characterized by change, such as the fashion garment market, makes decision-making even more complicated. The ethical and environmental labelling system proposed here is designed to alleviate firms’ administrative burden and give consumers more choice. It proposes that information on ethical and environmentally friendly production should be combined to enable consumers to decide whether they want to contribute an extra sum for the item they purchase in the store, which would then be transferred to the workers or an environmental organization. The beneficiaries – garment workers in developing countries and environmental organizations – would decide what to do with the money. This is a simp...
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This paper introduces the philosophical foundation and practical application of empirical phenomenology in social research. This approach builds upon the phenomenology of philosopher Edmund Husserl and sociologist Alfred Schütz, but... more
This paper introduces the philosophical foundation and practical application of empirical phenomenology in social research. This approach builds upon the phenomenology of philosopher Edmund Husserl and sociologist Alfred Schütz, but considers how their more theoretical insights can be used in an empirical approach. It aims at being practically useful for anyone doing qualitative studies and interested in safeguarding the subjective perspective of those studied. The main idea of empirical phenomenology is that scientific explanation must be grounded in the first-order construction of the actors; that is, their own meanings and words. These constructions are then related to the second-order constructions of the scientist. In this paper, empirical phenomenology is considered in the light of phenomenological philosophy. The bulk of the paper consists of an explication of the approach, particularly in relation to concrete methods such as interviewing and participant observation. Finally,...
This comment on the essay “The Complex Market: Communications of Exchange, Observing Competitors, and Prices” by Pascal Goeke and Evelyn Moser (2018, Sociologica , 1) focuses on their discussion of how market actors observe one another,... more
This comment on the essay “The Complex Market: Communications of Exchange, Observing Competitors, and Prices” by Pascal Goeke and Evelyn Moser (2018, Sociologica , 1) focuses on their discussion of how market actors observe one another, which is a theme connected to issues of prices and competition. In contrast to other coordination forms, i.e., mainly networks and organizations (hierarchies), markets require that those trading in markets are free to those so. Markets come with noise and disorder, due to the mutual adjustment that occurs between those trading in ordered markets. The general condition of markets is order. The text presents types of markets and argues that the role of mutual observation correlates with the type of market in question.
New economic sociology can be viewed as an answer to economic imperialism (Beckert 2007:6). In the early phase of new economic sociology, it was common to compare or debate the difference between economics and sociology. The first edition... more
New economic sociology can be viewed as an answer to economic imperialism (Beckert 2007:6). In the early phase of new economic sociology, it was common to compare or debate the difference between economics and sociology. The first edition of the Handbook of Economic Sociology (Smelser/Swedberg 1994:4) included a table which compared “economic sociology” and “main-stream economics,” which is not to be found in the second edition (Smelser/Swedberg 2005). Though the deletion of this table was due to limited space, one can also see it as an indication of a gradual shift within economic sociology over this period.2
In this text we respond and elaborate on the four comments addressing our original article. In that piece we define qualitative research as an “iterative process in which improved understanding to the scientific community is achieved by... more
In this text we respond and elaborate on the four comments addressing our original article. In that piece we define qualitative research as an “iterative process in which improved understanding to the scientific community is achieved by making new significant distinctions resulting from getting closer to the phenomenon studied.” In light of the comments, we identify three positions in relation to our contribution: (1) to not define qualitative research; (2) to work with one definition for each study or approach of “qualitative research” which is predominantly left implicit; (3) to systematically define qualitative research. This article elaborates on these positions and argues that a definition is a point of departure for researchers, including those reflecting on, or researching, the fields of qualitative and quantitative research. The proposed definition can be used both as a standard of evaluation as well as a catalyst for discussions on how to evaluate and innovate different sty...
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How do markets come about? This article offers a first systematic analysis of three different ideal types of market fashioning: mutual adjustment, organization, and fields. Although aspects of these are identifiable in most empirical... more
How do markets come about? This article offers a first systematic analysis of three different ideal types of market fashioning: mutual adjustment, organization, and fields. Although aspects of these are identifiable in most empirical markets, these three ideal types provide analytic tools for students of real markets and marketplaces. After going through this comprehensive literature, it is argued that mutual adjustment, which refers to non-planned processes, is affinity with markets in which products are differentiated, for example, producer markets. Organization refers to process driven by attempts to decide for others and shows affinity with markets for standardized and homogenous products, for example, stock exchanges. Organization also accounts for the making of marketplaces. The broader notion of fields does not refer to any specific process, but accounts for the context of market fashioning and its respective power struggles.
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In this study, we analyse the consequences of the conditions of the labour-market contracts for working on board merchant ships. More specifically, we examine how seafarers hired on different contr ...
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Sociology, Qualitative methodology, Qualitative Research, Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), Qualitative Research (Education), and 9 moreNvivo Based Qualitative Research, Qualitative Research Methods, Qualitative Methodology (Sociology), Medicine, Qualitative data analysis, Qualitative Analysis, Qualitative Data, Writing Qualitative Research, and Qualitative Sociology
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The purpose of this article is to analyze Alfred Marshall's concept of class. Marshall's concept of class is not well-studied. His idea of class is different from what Weber and Marx have proposed. In contrast to many other... more
The purpose of this article is to analyze Alfred Marshall's concept of class. Marshall's concept of class is not well-studied. His idea of class is different from what Weber and Marx have proposed. In contrast to many other economists, he has a discussion of class that is ...
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... Gary Herrigel was a PhD for some time in Germany, and he just mentioned Granovetter with the words: Just have a look at these papers. ... mation processes was either very descriptive or very much phrased and framed in terms of shock... more
... Gary Herrigel was a PhD for some time in Germany, and he just mentioned Granovetter with the words: Just have a look at these papers. ... mation processes was either very descriptive or very much phrased and framed in terms of shock therapy, as pro-posed by Jeffrey Sachs. ...
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... But Marshall's man is not an egoistic and atomized economic man, quite the contrary'. Notes 1. There is, of course, an ongoing debate on what economic sociology is. See, for example. Swedberg. ... Marshall, Alfred... more
... But Marshall's man is not an egoistic and atomized economic man, quite the contrary'. Notes 1. There is, of course, an ongoing debate on what economic sociology is. See, for example. Swedberg. ... Marshall, Alfred & Marshall Man' Paley. 1879/1994. The Economics of Industry. ...