HIDDEN BADGE OF HONOR: HOW CONTEXTUAL DISTINCTIVENESS AFFECTS CATEGORY PROMOTION AMONG CERTIFIED B CORPORATIONS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gehman, Joel; Grimes, Matthew
• 署名单位: University of Alberta; Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington; IU Kelley School of Business
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4273
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0416
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 2294-2320
• 关键词: INSTITUTIONAL COMPLEXITY; CERTIFICATION CONTESTS; IDENTITY; industry; entrepreneurship; performance; ORGANIZATIONS; legitimacy; diffusion; ISO-9000

摘要

Why would an organization pursue membership in an organizational category, yet forego opportunities to subsequently promote that membership? Drawing on prior research, we develop a theoretical model that distinguishes between basic and subordinate categories and highlights how organizations may differ in their promotion of the same subordinate category. We hypothesize that a subordinate category's contextual distinctiveness within different basic categories increases promotion, and that these effects are amplified in relatively larger subordinate category peer groups. To test our hypotheses, we developed a proprietary web-based software toolset and gathered textual and graphical data regarding B Corporations' web-based promotion of their certification. We supplemented our statistical analysis with interviews of Certified B Corporation entrepreneurs and executives. Our findings challenge prior assumptions about the causes of promotional forbearance, while extending our understanding of category distinctiveness within contexts as well as sources of intra-category variation.