Entrepreneurial Role Evolution Within Collective Action: Evidence from the Craft Beer Industry

Abstract

Research on individual roles largely focuses on relational interactions among members within a single organization. Yet how specific roles emerge, and how they are sustained, remains something of a black box. We identify patterns of role emergence within the craft beer industry –a segment made up of entrepreneurs who exhibit a strong, collective identity in opposition to large, multinational incumbent firms. We extend role identity theory by examining roles beyond the organizational level to discover which entrepreneurs adopt which roles within an industry segment. We also examine the strategic and performance implications of not adopting specific roles. Findings indicate entrepreneurs of craft breweries engage in three specific roles– resource sharing, operational assistance, and institutional-level governance. Respondents in our sample express these behaviors not as a means of self-identification relative to the group, but as a strategic logic in service to the craft beer collective. Additionally, entrepreneurs whose commitment to these roles are expressed vaguely, or are otherwise lacking, appear to experience lower performance growth relative to the overall industry segment. We elaborate on these roles and their performance implications for entrepreneurs operating in industry segments where an oppositional collective identity is a marked feature.