Status, quality, and social order in the California wine industry

This paper examines how a producer's status in the market influences its ch oices about product quality, and the outcomes that result. We compare econo mic models of reputation that emphasize the role of past quality as a sourc e of information about current quality with sociological models of status t hat emphasize the role of affiliations. We test hypotheses about the comple mentary effects of status and reputation in an analysis of more than 10,000 affiliation decisions made by 595 wineries over a 10-year period. Results show that actors occupying high-status positions obtain greater benefit fro m subsequent high-status affiliations than do actors occupying low-status p ositions. As such, these actors are more willing and able to pay for subseq uent high-status affiliations and to use them to advance their position in the larger status ordering.