Social network analysis, Culture, Meaning, Relational sociology, Qualitative methods,

Working with computational methods and large textual analysis has been challenging and very rewarding-with all the ups and downs that doing empirical social research entails. In my contribution, I relate some research experiences and reflect upon data construction and the links between theory, data, and methods.

This article connects two current, typically separate strands in network thinking that treat ‘culture’ and ‘structure’ as intermingled rather than as autonomous entities of a duality. It reviews and compares two different traditions, the ‘cultural turn’ in social network analysis and actor-network theory, which both view networks as culturally constituted processes. The article argues that the two approaches share many conceptual similarities, although important differences remain. They differ on what kinds of actors ascribe meaning to others. Furthermore, the article argues that some conceptual similarities have turned into methodological points of convergence in data analysis. The article suggests economic sociology as one possible area of research where the two approaches productively connect.

This article explores sociotechnical imaginaries of digital payments. Drawing on a decade of reports from industry consultants, the analysis of stories on digital payments identifies three sociotechnical imaginaries that shape the banking and payment industry: data monetization, the growth of digital payments, and the payment experience. The article argues that these imaginaries have contributed to the banking industry’s move toward becoming payment platforms, which restructure financial services based on a “re-personalization of money.” In effect, digital payments play a central part in the current economic transformation, led and promoted by global tech giants, that builds on the tracking, production, categorization, and classification of digital data. The article zooms in on recent and current expectations and imaginaries in the banking industry that, in the short run, shape economic decisions, while, in the long run, are set out to change how people interact, and how they are tracked, scored, and categorized.

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