Using an embeddedness approach, this volume analyzes how different forms of organization and market exchange systems function and co-evolve. In contrast to views that assume that pure markets or autonomous states guide change, the embeddedness approach argues that the social networks and institutions within which economic action is embedded provide economic order. By identifying consequential types of social structures, the essays in this volume advance our understanding of how exchange systems originate and change. The contributions of prominent scholars from Europe, Asia, and America testify to the embeddedness approach’s inclusive theoretical appeal, wide audience base, and contribution to the problem of how social networks, institutions, and culture affect organizational adaptation and the economic status of individuals in economies in transition.
