| Abstract: | This paper aims to bridge recent developments in the sociological analysis of culture with that of economic phenomena. I suggest to understand narrative competition as constitutive for market processes and, dually, for the identity formation of market actors. Following a discussion on the sociology of markets, I will point out possible linkages to cultural analyses. I show that stories actors tell on the market provide a linkage for structural and cultural analyses. I examine the main idea of narrative competition using an empirical case study of the emergent market of capital city newspapers at the end of the 1990s in Berlin. The analysis shows that in ongoing disputes about the interpretation of social reality market participants position themselves in the market. The evaluative positioning takes place over time and relationally with other competitors, by which they collaboratively construct the market. The positioning occurs at a time of great uncertainty and demands flexibility. Results nevertheless point to typical patterns of niche formation of market participants. |
