Social Embeddedness in the Iranian Bazar: Case Study of Handmade Carpets Bazar

Document Type : *

Authors

• Somaye Varshovi ¹
• Ali Yousofi ²
• Ahmad Reza Asgharpour Masouleh ³
• Hossein Akbari ²

¹ PhD in Economic and Development Sociology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Associate Professor in Sociology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³ Assistant Professor in Sociology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/social.2021.57870.0

Abstract

 
Although the price is a determinant element of the exchange market and is primarily considered an economic variable, the basic idea of the present paper is that it is not only a result of supply and demand in the carpet bazar in Iran but also it is influenced by the structure of relationships between the actors. In other words, different types of social embededness are significant and the prices in this market are shaped by the structure of social relations between buyers and sellers. With the aim of identifying the social mechanisms of pricing using a qualitative approach and an ethnomethodology method, we studied 35 participants from carpet markets in the cities of Mashhad, Tehran, Qom and Isfahan. They were from different parts of the bazar including merchants, wholesalers, retailers, commissioners, and intermediaries. The analysis of the interviews showed that the formation of prices in the carpet bazar is influenced by the exposure of sellers to familiar and unfamiliar buyers, which leads to the emergence of two main types of arm’s-length price and embedded price. In arm’s-length prices, the seller's transactions with unfamiliar buyers include three types: cash, long-term and profitable. In the embedded price of which the transactions with familiar buyers are carried out, three types of prices are identifiable, including the obligatory, painful and mediatory prices. The results clearly showed that prices in the carpet market are not based solely on the economic calculations of the actors; in fact, these prices are embedded in social structures, and manyA social mechanisms are involved in the process of pricing carpets.

Keywords

• Price Formation
• Embeddedness
• Carpet Market
• Arm’s-Length Price
• Embedded Price

20.1001.1.20081383.1399.17.2.1.0

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