Abstract
This study examines how influential actors in the Swiss watch industry employed history as a strategic resource in response to the introduction of quartz watch technology. Using qualitative data from 136 in-depth interviews with leading industry executives, collectors, auction house operators, and other actors, we examine how institutional entrepreneurs and guardians both influenced the resurgence of Swiss watchmaking. We find that the interaction of actors adopting prospector and defender strategic orientations toward history created a complementarity of technical and symbolic resources. In addition, we identify how mechanisms of technology approbation and creative abrasion resolved inherent tensions between entrepreneurs and guardians, and thus, facilitated institutional resilience and industry adaptation.
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