Gaining Legitimacy by Being Different: Optimal Distinctiveness in Crowdfunding Platforms

Taeuscher, Karl; Bouncken, Ricarda B.; Pesch, Robin

doi:10.5465/amj.2018.0620

Cited by 178 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…His multi‐industry study showed that the distinctiveness–performance relationship can systematically differ between categories, where the performance benefits of a distinctive positioning are greatest in categories in which competitors occupy relatively similar positions. Taeuscher et al (2020) outlined that evaluating audiences differ in their tolerance of nonconformity and appreciation of novelty and distinctiveness, and highlighted that such audience‐level characteristics can shape both benefits and liabilities of distinctiveness. Studying optimal distinctiveness in the context of crowdfunding, they find that the benefits of distinctiveness can strictly exceed the opposing liabilities in contexts in which audiences demonstrate a high tolerance of nonconformity and actively seek out novel and distinctive offerings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings strongly suggest that access to even one alternative source of legitimacy-high-status complementors-can provide a buffer against an immediate loss in legitimacy, and such legitimacy buffers increase-to a certain degree-the optimal level and performance benefits of distinctiveness. These findings have important implications for research on optimal distinctiveness (Barlow et al, 2019;Haans, 2019;Taeuscher, Bouncken, & Pesch, 2020;Zhao et al, 2018) because they draw attention to intra-market heterogeneity in firms' optimal distinctiveness-highlighting firms' legitimacy buffers as an important contingency for the theorized trade-off between differentiation and conformity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

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Optimal distinctiveness in platform markets: Leveraging complementors as legitimacy buffers

Taeuscher

Rothe

2020

Strategic Management Journal

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Research summary Optimal distinctiveness theory highlights that firms need to balance opposing pressures for differentiation (to gain competitive benefits) and conformity (to gain legitimacy). Yet, extant optimal distinctiveness research rarely considers that the pressure for conformity can substantially vary between competing firms. Studying the positioning and growth performance of competing platforms in the market for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), we find that platforms' access to high‐status complementors—a common source of legitimacy in platform markets—substantially shapes the relationship between platforms' distinctiveness and user growth. Our longitudinal models show that platforms only benefit from a (moderately) distinctive positioning once they have buffered a certain amount of legitimacy. Our findings strongly suggest that firms can alleviate conformity pressures by accessing alternative sources of legitimacy. Managerial summary When does differentiation pay off? We study this question in the increasingly important context of platform markets to explain differences in platforms' user growth. Our longitudinal study of competition in the market for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)—in which platforms like Coursera and Udacity compete for online learners as users—shows that the performance implications of a distinctive positioning substantially depend on the legitimacy that a platform has gained from attracting high‐status organizations as complementors. Platforms only benefit from differentiation once they surpass a certain legitimacy threshold, and the legitimacy they gain beyond this threshold accelerates the benefits of a (moderately) distinctive positioning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Optimal distinctiveness in platform markets: Leveraging complementors as legitimacy buffers

Taeuscher

Rothe

2020

Strategic Management Journal

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“…Entrepreneurship is in need of gaining legitimacy for attracting of resources and clients, which is complicated because of their liability of newness (Täuscher et al 2020). For the question of entrepreneurs can achieve legitimacy we have to consider the fundamentals of institutional theory which broadly defines an institution a set of rules that govern behavior of actors (Selznick 1996).…”

Section: Fundamentals Of Institutional Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…External relationships cross organizational boundaries (Bouncken and Fredrich 2016b;Pesch and Bouncken 2017). They can improve legitimization and attractiveness and bring resources (Täuscher et al 2020). Especially the young organizations of coworking spaces and their individual or entrepreneurial actor require legitimacy for their actions, specifically from other actors that provide physical, human, financial, or reputational resources (Dacin et al 2007;Dacin 1997;Suchman 1995).…”

Section: Layers and Loops Out Of The Flexible Border Among Internal Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Entrepreneurship of an institutional field: the emergence of coworking spaces for digital business models

2020

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Coworking spaces have been proliferating world-wide in urban and rural areas while facilitating entrepreneurship and new, especially digital business models. Our research analyzes the worldwide expansion by drawing upon mechanisms from institutional theory. We argue that the sense of community, emotional activation, the local communities together with the digital linkages and the open office allowed coworking spaces to evolve as a real space for entrepreneurship. The common lifestyle and the high digital identity of the users further explain the emergence of this entrepreneurship field that shows high convergent forms of coworking spaces. The key divergence comes with different ownership models.

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“…The keyword "legitimacy" also shows that the institutional entrepreneur cannot act unboundedly but depends on external approval (Garud et al 2002). However, legitimacy does not necessarily relate to established institutions but can also be based on distinctness (Taeuscher et al 2020).…”

Section: Keyword Co-occurrence Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Analysis and Science Mapping of Institutional Entrepreneurship Research

Tiberius

Rietz

Bouncken

2020

Administrative Sciences

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Institutional entrepreneurship comprises the activities of agents who disrupt existing social institutions or create new ones, often to enable diffusion, especially of radical innovations, in a market. The increased interest in institutional entrepreneurship has produced a large number of scholarly publications, especially in the last five years. As a consequence, the literature landscape is somewhat complex and scattered. We aim to compile a quantitative overview of the field within business and management research by conducting bibliometric performance analyses and science mappings. We identified the most productive and influential journals, authors, and articles with the highest impact. We found that institutional entrepreneurship has stronger ties to organization studies than to entrepreneurship research. Additionally, a large body of literature at the intersection of institutions and entrepreneurship does not refer to institutional entrepreneurship theory. The science mappings revealed a distinction between theoretical and conceptual research on one hand and applied and empirical research on the other hand. Research clusters reflect the structure–agency problem by focusing on the change agent’s goals and interests, strategies, and specific implementation mechanisms, as well as the relevance of public agents for existing institutions, and a more abstract process rather than agency view.

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Gaining Legitimacy by Being Different: Optimal Distinctiveness in Crowdfunding Platforms

Cited by 178 publications

References 76 publications

Optimal distinctiveness in platform markets: Leveraging complementors as legitimacy buffers

Optimal distinctiveness in platform markets: Leveraging complementors as legitimacy buffers

Entrepreneurship of an institutional field: the emergence of coworking spaces for digital business models

Performance Analysis and Science Mapping of Institutional Entrepreneurship Research

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