Coordination and compromise across competing economies of worth

Abstract

This study examines how consumers coordinate temporary access of their private homes in a home swapping market in which different guiding principles compete. Drawing on the theory of justification, we find consumers strategically use objects to stabilise the different economies of worth that govern this access-based marketplace. Three economies of worth, domestic, civic, and market, are stabilised in homes signalling to visitors how to coordinate their use of the home. Moreover, consumers facilitate the coexistence of all three economies of worth by managing justifiable and object-led compromises. Our findings contribute to understanding that the peaceful coexistence of economies of worth occurs through stabilising objects that guide both coordination and compromises. Our findings extend the current explanations of why markets with plural institutional logics are often conflictual, fragile, and unstable. We also propose theoretical and managerial implications on the strategic use of objects to support a diverse but stable market.