“Wall Street broking is based on the idea of telling stories to sell stocks” James Mackintosh, FT
Narratives are in some cases said to be moving the economy. The cultural economy is the one, where feelings, expectations, narratives and perceptions define the faith of the company. James Mackintosh argues that telling narratives sell the stocks (Financial Times Article, Story stocks tell tall tales, 2014). According to the article, 6.6% of the S&P 500 companies’ stocks are overvalued. Mackintosh calls them “story stocks” and argues that their price does not depend on the economy or the performance of the company, but the narratives and the reputation among the society.
The author believes that the strong economy could be a threat for such overvalued stocks, – the stronger environment would help them find lower price. Does according to this arguments, the cultural economy is just the outcome of an undeveloped economy? Will the influence of Halo effect be weakened in the more competitive environment? Or will it have the opposite outcome and could be perceived as a competitive advantage or disadvantage?
In my opinion, the cultural economy is more than just a narrative. As the economy, no matter how strong or developed, is managed by the people, I think, the feelings, expectations and perceptions will more or less have impact on the decisions that are made. The impact could weaken if the economy is more developed, as the author states, but the emotions will always have their share in decision-making.
