The Sociology of Financial Markets

Financial markets have often been seen by economists as efficient mechanisms that fulfill vital functions within economies. But do financial markets really operate in such a straightforward manner? The Sociology of Financial Markets approaches financial markets from a sociological perspective. It seeks to provide an adequate sociological coneptualization of financial markets, and examines who the actors within them are, how they operate, within which networks, and how these networks are structured. Patterns of trading, trading room coordination, and global interaction are studied to help us better understand how markets work and the types of reasoning behind these trends. Financial markets also have a structural impact on the governance of social and economic institutions. Until now, sociologists have examined issues of governance mostly with respect to the legal framework of financial transactions. Contributions in this book highlight the ways in which financial markets shape the inner working and structure of corporations and their governance. Finally the book seeks to investigate the symbolic aspects of financial markets. Financial markets affect not only economic and social structures but also societal cultural images and frameworks of meaning. Barbara Czarniawska demonstrates how representations of gender relationships are a case in point. Arguing that financial markets are not simply neutral with respect to questions of gender but enhance certain images and interpretations of men and women. Addressing many important topics from a sociological perspective for the first time, this book will be key reading for academics, researchers, and advanced students of financial markets in Business, Management, Economics, Finance, and Sociology. Contributors to this volume - Mitchel Y.Abolafia, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, Rockefeller College, SUNY/ Albany. Daniel Beunza, Assistant Professor, Economics and Business Department of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Gordon Clark, Head of School and Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford. Barbara Czarniawska, Chair in Management Studies, Gothenburg Research Institute, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Goteborg University. Gerald Davis, Sparks/Whirlpool Corporation Professor and Chair of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan Business School. Werner De Bondt, Richard H. Driehaus Professor of Behavioral Finance, De Paul University. Julian Dierkes, Assistant Professor and the Keidanren Chair in Japanese Research, Institute of Asian Research of the University of British Columbia. Frank Dobbin, Professor of Sociology, Harvard University. Jean-Pierre Hassoun, Research Fellow, French National Scientific Research Center. Karin Knorr Cetina, Professor of Sociology, University of Konstanz Man-Shan Kwok, Department of Sociology, Princeton University. Donald MacKenzie holds a Personal Chair in Sociology, University of Edinburgh. Michael Power, P. D. Leake Professor of Accounting and Co-Director of the Center for the Analysis of Risk and Regulation, London School of Economics. Alex Preda, Lecturer in Social Theory, University of Edinburgh. Gregory Robbins, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, Dupree College of Management, Georgia Institute of Technology. Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago, David Stark, Arthur Lehman Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, and Director of the Center on Organizational Innovation, Columbia University. Richard Swedberg, Professor of Sociology, Cornell University. Nigel Thrift, Head of the Division of Life and Environmental Sciences, Oxford University. Dirk Zorn, Princeton University.