Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cultural, Structural, and Economic Factors in the Advent and Acceptance of a New Cultural Product Market

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SES-0221014PI(s): Timothy Dowd Maureen Blyler Emory University This Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant proposes to take a more holistic approach to the examination of the emergence of new cultural product markets by examining the role of cultural, structural and economic factors. Past sociological research has detailed the role of culture, social structure, and the state and public policy in the emergence of markets. However, much of this work focuses on production factors associated with markets' emergence and generally highlights the social construction of markets. The PIs suggest that markets are more driven by demand-side factors than factors of production. This project will investigate how advertisers, consumers, and producers contributed to the emergence and accommodation of a new consumer specialty magazine market within that particular market sector. The investigators argue that to truly understand markets, we must understand not only how markets are created and persist, but also how they are enabled by factors that are not exclusively social or economic. Recent archival data and a content analysis of major U.S. newspapers and magazines will be used to examine how the new economy magazine market emerged and was legitimized by advertisers, consumers and producers.