Crossing Double-edged Swords: Categorical Distance, Status Distance, and Tie Formation

Abstract

Whereas conventional wisdom suggests that categorical and status distances can reinforce each other’s negative effect on interpersonal tie formation, it largely overlooked the possibility that, because of their double-edged nature, categorical and status distances may weaken each other’s negative impact. We argue that, in contexts where innovation and identity distinction are both important, status distance can help overcome categorical barriers to interpersonal tie formation. In support for our theory, analysis of music collaboration in the commercial music industry (2000-2015) shows that categorical (genre) distance reduced the likelihood of collaboration between the main artist and the featured artist of an album, but this negative effect was weaker if the main artist had greater “status surplus” over the featured artist. In addition, the positive interaction of categorical and status distances was stronger if the main artist’s status was less volatile, which underlines the importance of the robustness of status-based identity.