Fashioning an Industry: Socio-cognitive Processes in the Construction of Worth of a New Industry

摘要

This study of the high-end fashion industry in India examines the process of construction of the worth of a new industry. Analyses of data from multiple sources revealed that framing by early entrepreneurs and the socio-cognitive processes that resulted from the transactions of field-constituents with the new industry constructed the worth of the industry. These socio-cognitive processes-curation and certification, commentary and critique, co-presentation, comparison and commensuration-enabled broader audiences to make sense of the industry and comprehend its worth. The findings form the basis of a general model of the social construction of worth through a process of distributed sanctification, contributing to the growing literature on social construction of value.