This study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It focuses on how two organizational forms dominant in contemporary art markets – commercial galleries... Show moreThis study proposes a new explanation for institutional differences of organizations in China. It focuses on how two organizational forms dominant in contemporary art markets – commercial galleries and auction houses – were first established in China in the 1990s. Based on archival and interview data, it argues that the organizational forms were introduced to China due to mimetic isomorphism, and that their divergences from the foreign models are the result of unintended consequences of institutional work. It highlights the role of individual agency, including the role of foreign nationals, in organization-building in China. The findings also have implications for institutional theory: the article shows how the political, cultural and institutional context in China shaped institutional work that needed to be conducted and led to unintended consequences of institutional work. Show less
This article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociological studies of market emergence, it focuses on emic perceptions and their consequences for actions... Show moreThis article proposes a novel approach to studying markets through metaphor. Unlike other sociological studies of market emergence, it focuses on emic perceptions and their consequences for actions in an emerging peripheral market. By analysing a guiding conceptual metaphor for the contemporary art market in China it investigates how market actors make sense of their market and its global position. It draws on 125 in-depth interviews and observations conducted in Beijing in 2012–2014. The market is conceptualised as an organism and juxtaposed to “mature” Western markets. This metaphor enables China’s market actors to (a) describe the market, (b) justify illegitimate behaviours, and (c) see the future and the possible ways of action. This study contributes to the sociology of markets as it suggests applying metaphor analysis to markets, as well as theorising non-agentic elements of market construction and focusing on the time dimension of market emergence. It contributes to globalisation literature as it discusses the perception of globalisation in a peripheral market, and suggests that this market’s participants do not self-Orientalise. Show less
This article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for singularities. In particular, it seeks to understand how specific judgment devices become dominant in resolving... Show moreThis article studies the role of judgment devices in the emergence of markets for singularities. In particular, it seeks to understand how specific judgment devices become dominant in resolving uncertainty within these markets. Building on Karpik’s seminal theory, we argue that institutional environments (e.g. government regulations, political economic factors, the level of informality within business environments) as well as the level of expertise of consumers, co-determine which devices come to be used in new markets. Empirically, we focus on the emerging market for contemporary art in China. While auctions and auction prices are widely used in valuing contemporary art in China, this is highly illegitimate in international art markets. We argue that auctions act as a judgment device in China because of strong government backing, because other validating organizations, such as museums and art critics, are seen as untrustworthy, and because auctions send strong, easily interpretable signals to novice collectors. Show less
