Getting counted: Markets, media, and reality

被引:282
作者
Kennedy, Mark Thomas [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ So Calif, Marshall Sch Business, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1177/000312240807300205
中图分类号
C91 [社会学];
学科分类号
030301 ; 1204 ;
摘要
Firms that do not fit into established business categories tend to be overlooked, but new markets often form around these "misfits." Because being seen as part of a growing population makes new populations seem real, counting them is important to mainstreaming new markets. Yet, if firms outside the mainstream are overlooked, how can they be counted? Extending the embeddedness perspective to social cognition about markets, this research exposes the media central role in market formation. Using a new method for extracting data about market networks from media coverage, this study demonstrates that early entrants benefit,from inviting coverage that makes a few-but not too many-links to other entrants, thus helping audiences perceive an emerging category. As the market matures, however references to rivals become unhelpful. These findings illustrate the value of a linguistic turn to empirical studies of meaning construction and the reification of social structure.
引用
收藏
页码:270 / 295
页数:26
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