Digital Marketplaces from Online Networks: The Case of Rare Plant Collectors in Online Marketplaces

• In Event: Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 11. Jobs & markets

Abstract

What forms can digital marketplaces take? While current conceptions of digital marketplaces are mainly dominated by “transaction platforms” (Airbnb, Uber, etc.), this does not mean that all digital marketplaces must follow such a form. This paper examines one of the classic paradigms of markets in economic sociology – markets built from networks – but shows how this takes shape digitally in an online space. Through an in-depth one-year ethnographic study of online digital markets during the Covid Pandemic (2020-2021) and in subsequent recent interviews (2026) for the buying and selling of “rare and exotic”, I show how a community of amateur hobbyists incorporated online exchange within an already tightly embedded group of enthusiasts. While relationships were important for traditional offline markets, these ties in the digital marketplace were foundational to and highly influenced by trust and status arising from online interaction, showing how a community can build a digital marketplace from such networks.

Author

• Jeff T. Sheng, Saint Mary's College of California