Culture and Markets 

Many markets in modern capitalist economies generate highly unequal outcomes: while some products command extraordinary prices, other similar products don’t. How can such disparities be explained? And how can consumers be confident they are getting their money’s worth? In this line of research, I investigate the social mechanisms through which markets reduce uncertainty and construct value. I examine how cultural discourses, critics and rankings, and social networks shape price formation, particularly in the wine market. Beyond this, I explore the social value attributed to leisure activities and forms of cultural participation, as well as the ways in which aesthetic and ethical judgments intersect. By adopting a sociological perspective on markets, my work offers an important complement to economic and psychological approaches to valuation and decision-making.

Important publications:

Schenk, Patrick (2021): Karpik in the Bottle: Can Judgment Devices Explain the Demand for Fine Wine? KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift Für Soziologie Und Sozialpsychologie, 73(2), 177–200.

Weingartner, Sebastian, Patrick Schenk, and Jörg Rössel (2022): The cogs and wheels of authenticity: How descriptive and evaluative beliefs explain the unequal appreciation of authentic products. Sociological Perspectives 65(4): 727-747.

Beckert, Jens, Jörg Rössel, and Patrick Schenk (2017). Wine as a Cultural Product. Symbolic Capital and Price Formation in the Wine Field. Sociological Perspectives: 206-222.