When Jay-Z Comes to Town: Status Spillovers Through Objects

Research typically ascribes social status directly to an individual anthropomorphized entity, whether a human or an organization. Multiple literatures have described how objects such as prizes, luxury goods, and workplace resources, can become imbued with status that is conferred on their human owners. Two areas remain unclear from these various theoretical fragments: what aspects of objects might make them relevant for status, and how relations among objects themselves might lead to status spillovers between individuals. We present theory addressing both of these areas, predicting that feature-based similarities among objects provide a conduit for positive status spillovers between individuals. We investigate our predictions with a study of an NFT ('Non-Fungible Token') portrait marketplace, tracing two mechanisms by which positive status spillovers could occur. We find that both appear to be viable routes for a positive status spillover. Future studies will further test and explore the theory we articulate. We seek to contribute to the sociological understanding of status systems, and discuss implications for management practice.