The Social Construction of a Market: Institutional Transformation of the Imported Automobile Market in Korea (1987-2018)

Abstract

This study utilized perspectives from economic sociology in order to analyze an industry in terms of the social relations bound to it. More specifically, this study argued that the growing imported automobile industry in Korea is not the result of better technology or optimizing rationality, but due to the changing nature of social relations between the government, firms, and consumers. This study found that the changing structure of the institutionalized relationships between the government and chaebols and between chaebols and consumers significantly contributed to the rapid development of the Korean imported automobile market. In addition, this study found that, caught in the crosspressures between domestic market structures and international pressures, the Korean government and chaebols broke apart, opening the way for market changes spearheaded by foreign automakers.