Research Details

Abstract

Cultural intermediaries define the standards many consumers use when evaluating cultural products. Yet, little research has focused on whether cultural intermediaries may systematically differ from each other with regard to the standards they emphasize. This paper builds on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural production to examine how the type of sub-field reviewed and/or the cultural intermediary’s expertise (or “field-specific cultural capital”) affect the standards an intermediary uses. Bourdieu was ambivalent about whether cultural intermediaries will reflect the logic of a sub-field. Results show that the answer depends on the intermediary’s field-specific cultural capital. Critics with lower field-specific cultural capital reflect the same logic as the sub-field they are critiquing. Critics with higher field-specific cultural capital reflect the opposite logic. These results also reinforce previous findings that individuals with high field-specific cultural capital are more likely to break with the logic of a field.

Type

Article

Author(s)

Matteo Corciolani, Kent Grayson, Ashlee Humphreys

Date Published

2020

Citations

Corciolani, Matteo, Kent Grayson, and Ashlee Humphreys. 2020. Do More Experienced Critics Review Differently? How Field-Specific Cultural Capital Influences the Judgments of Cultural Intermediaries. European Journal of Marketing.