From moral concerns to market values: how political consumerism shapes markets
Abstract
This chapter draws on the economic sociology literature and considers the effects of
political consumer activism on market structures and practices. Its main argument is that
activists who employ market-based tactics provide markets with alternative valuations of
products, corporate reputations, and economic activities that challenge existing market
values. These contentious forms of valuation modify the structure of opportunities for
market operators, leading some companies to change practices or products, which may in
turn influence market competition. Moreover, the new normative framing of market
values by civil society may convince states to regulate corporate behaviour. This
perspective reveals conditions in which normative concerns emerge about market
activities and may be progressively integrated into market practices. This works through
a complex mechanism of changes in the valuation of market entities, actors, and
activities. Markets could then be locations for the emergence of moral economies that
can challenge existing economic practices.