Market regimes: a validation of their existence and an exploration of their emergence

Abstract Economic anthropologists and sociologists have observed distinct market regimes—sociocultural systems of exchange characterized by specific devices, organizing logics, and social relationships. This article confirms that different market regimes can emerge within the same institutional setting and proposes a theoretical framework explaining their origins. Analyzing eBay auction data, I identify six market clusters (standard, collectible, standard collectible, antique collectible, art, and marginal) that differ in type and level of uncertainty. Sellers use devices like labels, quality conventions, and categories at varying rates and device use correlates differently with auction success across clusters, verifying emergence of distinct regimes on the same platform. I propose that regimes emerge as participants respond to social rewards and market incentives by investing in public and private devices. Self-perpetuating dynamics create distinct regime types characterized by different social structures (communitarian/hierarchical), relationships (supporting collective identities/status rankings), and symbolic values of products (emphasizing categorical conformity/quality differentiation).