Abstract
Literature on categories recognizes that in the early stages of a category, ambiguity can arise from divergent frames used to define the category. Yet it also largely expects this ambiguity to be either temporary, or else detrimental to the survival and evolution of the category. In this study, we demonstrate and explain how, alternatively, category ambiguity can persist when multiple frames continue to be applied to a category as it progresses into maturity. Drawing on an in-depth qualitative study of the case of social entrepreneurship, we examine how and under what conditions this outcome occurs. We specify two co-occurring conditions that prompt category stakeholders to shift their framing from exclusive to inclusive, enabling category ambiguity to persist. We furthermore show how the use of category frames that draw from pre-existing resonant categories supports the persistence of category ambiguity. We contribute to literature on categories by clarifying the antecedents of category evolution towards a trajectory of persistent ambiguity.
Highlights
Categories are vital for understanding how organizations and fields develop
The ambiguity associated with divergent frames and multiple meanings will subside once the contestation over frames results in one frame becoming dominant and providing clarity on the meaning of the category
With this study we aim to strengthen our understanding of category ambiguity and ask: How and under what conditions can a category sustain plural frames as it progresses into maturity?
Summary
Categories are vital for understanding how organizations and fields develop. In recent decades, scholarship in organizational theory has made significant theoretical and empirical progress in our understanding of category dynamics: the processes through which categories emerge and change, and the respective consequences for organizations, fields and markets (Durand & Paolella, 2013; Organization Studies 41(7)Hannan, Pólos, & Carroll, 2007). In parallel, an emerging body of work has drawn attention to cases of categories that survive and prosper even though no dominant frame emerges as they mature (Pontikes, 2012) In these cases, stakeholders continue to use multiple frames, imbuing the category with multiple meanings. Recent scholarship on categories has suggested that explicit attention to interests, resources and framing strategies of stakeholders would benefit our understanding of the trajectory of categories (Durand, Granqvist, & Tyllström, 2017; Hiatt & Carlos, 2018). We integrate these suggestions in our approach to uncovering the field-level conditions and stakeholder strategies that enable sustained category ambiguity. We ask: How and under what conditions can a category sustain plural frames as it progresses into maturity?
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