TY - JOUR

T1 - Communicating identity

T2 - how the symbolic meaning of goods creates different market types

AU - Dalla Chiesa, Carolina

AU - Dekker, Erwin

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - This paper argues that the different symbolic meanings of goods give rise to three institutionally different market types. We start from the realization that consumption has symbolic meaning, which individuals use to communicate and construct their identity to their social networks. We argue that firm behavior (including size, pricing and marketing strategies) must be congruent with the symbolic meaning of goods. We distinguish between two stylized meanings of goods, status and taste, which we derive from the socio-anthropological literature on consumption. We argue that these different meanings, articulated by consumers to communicate their identity, give rise to three ideal-typical market types. We present the institutional differences between these market types as well as the implications for firm behavior and demonstrate how firm behavior and marketing strategies differs significantly from markets in which the symbolic meaning of goods is relatively unimportant. We use the recent transformation of the beer market by the craft-beer producers, to illustrate our theory.

AB - This paper argues that the different symbolic meanings of goods give rise to three institutionally different market types. We start from the realization that consumption has symbolic meaning, which individuals use to communicate and construct their identity to their social networks. We argue that firm behavior (including size, pricing and marketing strategies) must be congruent with the symbolic meaning of goods. We distinguish between two stylized meanings of goods, status and taste, which we derive from the socio-anthropological literature on consumption. We argue that these different meanings, articulated by consumers to communicate their identity, give rise to three ideal-typical market types. We present the institutional differences between these market types as well as the implications for firm behavior and demonstrate how firm behavior and marketing strategies differs significantly from markets in which the symbolic meaning of goods is relatively unimportant. We use the recent transformation of the beer market by the craft-beer producers, to illustrate our theory.

KW - Sociology

KW - symbolic meaning of goods

KW - quality signals

KW - market segmentation

KW - judgment devices

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122248361&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/9e8d01f3-8625-3178-a3a2-730d306b890d/

U2 - 10.1080/00346764.2021.2019822

DO - 10.1080/00346764.2021.2019822

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 82

SP - 76

EP - 97

JO - Review of Social Economy

JF - Review of Social Economy

SN - 0034-6764

IS - 1

ER -