The goal of this symposium is to deepen our understanding of how entrepreneurs, organizations, and their audiences (both professional and general) interpret and use classification systems and how the characteristics of the categories themselves influence this process. In so doing, we contribute to a growing interest in the ways in which the quality of both categories and spans can differ, and how that leads to variations in outcomes (Durand & Paolella, 2013; Kennedy & Fiss, 2013). Collectively, the presentations in this symposium examine the contexts in which actors and audiences enhance the perception and/or performance of their activities through boundary spanning. In particular, the presentations emphasize greater attention to the qualities of the actors, the process through which audiences evaluate atypical offerings, and the characteristics of categories themselves. The substantive implications for research findings in this area cover a broad spectrum on industries. The empirical subject of this line of theorizing has ranged from cultural production of movies, winemaking, and French cuisine to the structure of labor markets, to the performance of hedgefunds, the nanotech industry, and publicly traded companies. Imitation and Differentiation in the Emergence of New Categories Presenter: Chad Navis; U. of Wisconsin, Madison Presenter: Greg Fisher; Indiana U. Presenter: Shannon LT Younger; U. of Wisconsin, Madison