CHASING THE TASTEMAKERS: GATEKEEPER EMBEDDEDNESS IN CULTURAL INDUSTRIES.

Research on embeddedness has made dramatic progress in clarifying how social relationships impact economic exchanges. However, more is known about the impact of embeddedness on exchange than on the conditions under which various kinds of social ties will be useful. This study uses the case of gatekeepers in a cultural industry to identify the conditions under which different kinds of ties are adaptive. Using a combination of ethnographic interviews, network and market data, I show that variations in organizational strategies and environments lead to dramatic differences in gatekeepers' search behaviors, embeddedness and risk reduction strategies. These findings are used to extend the boundaries of both embeddedness and cultural industry research.