Handbook Of Economic Sociology For The 21st Century: New Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Studies And Developments

300 Pages·2021·5.182 MB·English

by  Andrea Maurer

Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research
Andrea Maurer Editor
Handbook of
Economic
Sociology for
the 21st Century
New Theoretical Approaches,
Empirical Studies and Developments
Handbooks of Sociology and Social
Research
SeriesEditor
RichardSerpe
DepartmentofSociology,KentUniversity,Kent,OH,USA
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Andrea Maurer
Editor
Handbook of Economic
Sociology for the
st
21 Century
New Theoretical Approaches,
Empirical Studies and Developments
Editor
AndreaMaurer
FBIV-Soziologie
UniversitatTrier
Trier,Rheinland-Pfalz,Germany
ISSN1389-6903 ISSN2542-839X (electronic)
HandbooksofSociologyandSocialResearch
ISBN978-3-030-61618-2 ISBN978-3-030-61619-9 (eBook)
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Where We Came from, Where We Are, and
Where We Expect to Go: New Challenges
and Developments in Economic Sociology
Today
Societyandeconomyarefacingtremendouschallengesthesedays.Inthelast
few decades, globalization has reached a new dimension; digitalization has
brought about new action patterns and organizational forms; crises have
changedhowwelookattheeconomy;andsocialinequalitieshaveincreased
greatly. We have observed variations in capitalism, a decline of centrally
planned economies, and a rise of markets accompanied by alternative forms
ofcoordination.OnlyrecentlyhavewerecognizedthatChinaaswellasparts
ofLatinAmericahavecombinedmarkets,state,andsocialtiesinanewway
toreorganizeeconomy.InmodernWesterneconomies,weseethechallenge
ofreachingsustainabilitywhileincreasingeconomicoutput.Afinalchallenge
comes from economic and societal crises. The most far-reaching economic
crisesshookmoderneconomicinstitutions,confidenceinglobalmarkets,and
socialstructurein2007–2008and2020.Allinall,muchhashappenedsince
theturnofthecentury.
Economic sociology is facing a tremendous change, too. After it was
developed in the 1970s, successfully centered around the idea that social
factors matter for economic structure and outcome, more sociologists have
entered the research field coming from different backgrounds and asking
different questions.Whilethewell-knownprogramofnew economic sociol-
ogyhasbeenestablishedasabranchofUSsociologysincethe1970s,thenew
linesrefertorecentandclassicapproachesofEuropeanthinkingandsociol-
ogy.Thefoundersofneweconomicsociology,RonaldBurt,JamesColeman,
Mark Granovetter, Richard Swedberg, and Harrison White, have studied
social factors that support modern market exchange and entrepreneurship in
order to overcome the shortcomings of standard economic and sociological
theory.The newerapproachesthat have enteredthe fieldduringthe last two
decades take new perspectives and emphasize the various interrelationships
betweeneconomyandsociety.Somenewlinesadoptandwidentheconcept
of“socialembeddedness.”Someofthembringinculturalfactorsandanalyze
beliefs, values, conventions, or practices and how they shape economic
thinkingandactions,whileothernewcomersfocusonsocietalaspects,socio-
economic processes, and even economic forms such as market capitalism.
Whereas the mainstream of new economic sociology studies social relations
in modern markets, most of the newcomers take a more societal and critical
perspectivesuchassocioeconomicsandpoliticaleconomy,amongothers.
v
vi WhereWeCamefrom,WhereWeAre,andWhereWeExpecttoGo:NewChallenges...
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, economic sociologists are
reconsideringtheirorigins,wheretheyarenow,andwheretheyexpecttogo
inthefuture. Thechallengesdescribed,alongwiththesenewdevelopments,
demand a Handbook of Economic Sociology for the Twenty-First Century.
NotonlyhaveEuropeansociologicaltraditionsbeenreinvented,butayoung
internationalcommunityofeconomicsociologistshasemerged,givingriseto
new research topics, and questioning the initial perspectives. This handbook
aims to bring researchers together from different countries and traditions to
provide an overview of what is current cutting-edge research in the field of
economic sociology. It will also document which shoulders economic
sociologists stand on—to use the phrase once coined by Robert K. Merton.
Thehandbookalsohighlightswhatmakeseconomicsociologyspecialandan
attractivepartnerforothersocialscientists.Itshowswhatweknowaboutthe
classical roots, draws a picture of what is going on in the field, and
demonstrateswhatquestionsmightbeofinterestinthefuture.
The handbook is organized into two parts. Part I is concerned with theo-
reticalapproachesanddevelopments,andPartIIcoversempiricalstudiesand
topicsthatdefinespecialfields.Thefirstpartdealswithfoundationalconcepts
that redefined economic sociology at the end of the twentieth century and
looksathowreconsideringclassicalwritingsmightworkasabasisforfuture
work. Richard Swedberg, Gertraude Mikl-Horke, and Peter Marsden, three
well-knownexperts,demonstratehowtheclassicalfoundationsstillinfluence
economic sociology, and why they should be used in the future. Richard
Swedberg elaborates a guideline for using classics such as Alexis de
Tocqueville, Max Weber, or Karl Marx. Gertraude Mikl-Horke discusses
the different understandings of economic sociology in the writings of Max
Weber, Joseph A. Schumpeter, and Karl Polanyi, emphasizing a historical-
empirical orientation. Peter Marsden focuses on the work of James
S. Coleman and investigates the notion of social capital as a key tool for
economicsociologists.Newlinesofthought,whichhavebeendevelopedonly
recently,areintroducedinPartIaswell.AndreaMaurerdiscusseshownew
economic sociology could improve by collaborating with mechanism
approach for exploring how and why social factors shape economy. Pierre
François investigates the French tradition of institutionalism and how it
contributes to economic sociology by analyzing various institutions. Jens
Beckert and Timur Ergen explore how imaginations of the future influence
economic actions and processes, and thus, offer a new perspective. Jörg
Rössel,PatrickSchenk,andSebastianWeingartnerillustratehowtheideaof
aestheticization influences markets and links societal processes to markets.
Uwe Schimank and Ute Volkmann emphasize how economic criteria have
spread out and how this process could be analyzed in the framework of
differentiation theory. All chapters provide deep sociological insights and
tools to analyze the modern economy and especially how society and econ-
omyareintertwined.
Part II illustrates that in the last few decades, much has happened in the
research field of economic sociology. Recent studies emphasize the social
constitution and structuration of particular markets, institutional settings and
innovation, alternative forms of organizing the economy, and how social
WhereWeCamefrom,WhereWeAre,andWhereWeExpecttoGo:NewChallenges... vii
movements and societal views influence the economy. In Part II, the first
subsectionpresentsrecentstudiesontheemergenceandfunctioningofspecial
markets. This is done through empirical research on online markets by
Andreas Diekmann and Wojtek Przepiorka using experiments. Attention
markets are brought in by Philipp Bachmann and Gabriele Siegert studying
attentionasavaluableresourceinthedigitalage.HelgeMooshammerfocuses
oninformalmarketsusingethnographicmethodsandofferingalivelypicture
of informal markets in Bangkok, Moscow, Barcelona, and the former
Yugoslavia. Another strong line in economic sociology highlights social
andinformalinstitutionsandinstitutionalchangeasaframeworkofeconomy.
ThisisshowninthesecondsubsectioninPartII.Inherresearch,SonjaOpper
investigatestheimportanceofprivateactorsandlocalcultureforinstitutional
change,mainlywithreferencetoEastAsiaandEasternEurope.LuciaQuaglia
outlines the gaps and weaknesses of the formal institutional governance
systemintheEU—mainlytheEuropeanSystemicRiskBoardandtheGeneral
Council of the European Central Bank—when it comes to crises. Alberto
VeiraRamosandTetianaLiubyvastudyattitudesofdifferentsocialgroupsin
Ukraine toward socialism and markets to explain the slow pace of transfor-
mation after 1989. All chaptersoffer new insightson howsocialinstitutions
shapeeconomicoutcomeandinnovation.
Inthethirdsubsection inPart II,empirical results onalternativeformsof
organizing production and consumption of goods and services are given.
Gilles Allaire analyzes the development of alternative food markets (AFD)
bydescribingthemasaprojectofcontroldefinedbyindividualactors,social
movements, and NGOs. In his brand-new study on the interest-free digital
moneyintroducedinSardiniain2010,GiacomoBazzanigivesevidencethat
the social organization of digital money could be a way for communities to
overcome crises and for using their particular social capital. Isabell Stamm
describesgroupsasaformofsocialsupportforfamilyfirmsandgivesanew
interpretation of the notion of social embeddedness. In the fourth and final
subsection,JohannesBergerdrawsapictureofthehistoryofmoderncapital-
ism, weighing its positive and negative sides. Sebastian Koos refers to the
challenge,incapitalistdemocracies,ofreachingsociallydefinedgoalsandof
improvingsocialandcorporateresponsibility.
Thecollectionofchaptersdemonstratesthat economicsociologyisastill
growing and highly inspiring research field. Moreover, the handbook shows
that researchers from all over the world are developing sociological
perspectives on essential economic issues. On the one hand, economic
sociologistsaimatprovidingmorerealisticexplanations,analyses,andempir-
ical studiesof economic topics than standard economic theory. On theother
hand,theyalsoclaimtofillthegapleftbymodernsociologistswhoignored
economicissuesduringthetwentiethcenturyandthereforemissedoneofthe
mostexcitingtopics inmodernsociety.Inthissense,bothclassical andnew
developments in economic sociology contribute to a better understanding of
moderneconomyandofhowtoimprovesociology.
UniversityofTrier,Trier,Germany AndreaMaurer
Acknowledgments
Economic sociologists, as we all know, work in socially embedded and
institutionalizedcontexts.Duringthelastfewdecades,anumberofworking
groups, partnerships, and national as well as international associations have
been established or reinvented. I want to thank all the colleagues who have
joined me in institutionalizing economic sociology in Germany, in Europe,
andininternationalassociations.IamespeciallygratefultotheESAResearch
Network “Economic Sociology” and the Section “Economic Sociology” of
theGermanSociologicalAssociation(DGS).
I owe much to many fellow researchers, who have helped to make eco-
nomic sociology a lively research field and who supported my work on this
newhandbook.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmydeepestappreciationtoallthe
authors who gave their ideas and contributed in many ways to make the
projectenjoyableandsuccessful.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmyappreciation
toLauraLee,SusannaNagel,ClemensSchmidt,andLeaReinhardtforallthe
detailed work on formatting, checking, correcting, and proofreading every
chapter. Their work, together with the well-established collaboration of
SpringerVSand anew partnershipwith Springer Nature, hasbeenthe solid
groundforfinalizingtheproject.
Iwanttodedicatethehandbooktomybelovedbrother,KarlMaurer.
ix
Contents
PartI TheoreticalPerspectivesandDevelopments
1 TheClassicTraditioninEconomicSociology. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
RichardSwedberg
2 AustrianandGermanClassicsasaFoundation?. . . . . . . . . . 19
GertraudeMikl-Horke
3 JamesColeman,SocialCapital,andEconomicSociology. . . . 33
PeterV.Marsden
4 SocialFactorsintheEconomy:NewEconomicSociology
andtheMechanismApproach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
AndreaMaurer
5 AFrenchInstitutionalisminEconomicSociology?. . . . . . . . . 63
PierreFrançois
6 TranscendingHistory’sHeavyHand:TheFuture
inEconomicAction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
JensBeckertandTimurErgen
7 TheAestheticMomentinMarkets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
JörgRössel,PatrickSchenk,andSebastianWeingartner
8 Economization:HowNeo-LiberalismTookOverSociety. . . . 113
UweSchimankandUteVolkmann
PartII EmpiricalStudiesandResearchTopics
9 TrustandReputationinHistoricalMarkets
andContemporaryOnlineMarkets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
AndreasDiekmannandWojtekPrzepiorka
10 HowtoBuy,Sell,andTradeAttention:ASociology
of(Digital)AttentionMarkets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
PhilippBachmannandGabrieleSiegert
xi