The literatures on creativity and innovation are each premised on the same important
assumption that has gone largely unquestioned: Creativity and innovation are outcomes that …

Winner of the 2000 Max Weber prize, awarded by the Section on Organizations,
Occupations, and Work, of the American Sociological Association, for the best book on …

Despite the centrality of meaning to institutionalization, little attention has been paid to how
meanings evolve and amplify to become institutionalized cultural conventions. We develop …

To remain competitive in a shifting sociocultural landscape, firms often introduce new
meanings—new reasons why customers use their products or services—that must be …

Emotions are central to social life and thus they should be central to organization theory.
However, emotions have been treated implicitly rather than theorized directly in much of …

Organizational category research has received increasing attention in the field of
management and organization for over 30 years. Although there are extant literature reviews …

A general finding in economic and organizational sociology shows that objects that span
categories lose appeal to audiences. This paper argues that the negative consequences of …

Digital product innovation involves a meaning-making process. Designers of digital
innovations often challenge established product meanings as they digitize physical …

This article suggests that both producers and analysts are strategic about categorization.
Producers use categorization to maintain a balance of differentiation and legitimacy …

Abstract Research Summary We theorize the strategies that entrepreneurial actors employ
to instill their endeavors with culturally resonant meanings and rally the support of key …