Sticky Status? The Status Differentiation and Transitivity across Markets

• In Event: 365 - Section on Sociology of Culture Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Culture and Markets

Abstract

This paper answers the question of how actors’ status changes across different markets and the potential for status transitivity between markets. Status transitivity between markets is crucial to understand how status positions (whether the different or the same) are evolving through different markets. I examine status differentiation and transitivity across markets in the context of international art market expansion, using annual art auctions data of Korean artists in both domestic and international art auctions from 1998-­‐2011. Using the concepts of judgment devices and audience specificity, it examined how institutional logics and audience differences created distinct status, as well as their effects on status transitivity between markets.
Analysis of artists’ market status change between local and global markets indicates that Korean art market creates standardized market status while international market emphasize maximized market status. Also, while market device show strong connection on market success and mostly increase the transitivity, non-­‐market device does not affect on the market success directly, but it works as strong gatekeeper on status transitivity. Moreover, the stickiness of status was significantly bounded by the fit with embedded audiences apart from their actual performance. General implications are discussed.

Author

• Kangsan Lee, Northwestern University