New identities from remnants of the past: an examination of the history of beer brewing in Ontario and the recent emergence of craft breweries

Abstract

We present an exploratory analysis of historical narratives and data covering 200 years of beer brewing in the Canadian province of Ontario. These data are used to illuminate the process of collective identity emergence in established organizational fields. We argue that established fields are typically littered with identity remnants from ancestral organizations and related institutional configurations that can facilitate the successful emergence of new collective identities. In our analysis we first show how multiple identity elements fell by the wayside as the beer brewing field matured and settled on a corporate path. We go on to detail how some of these identity elements were subsequently recovered during the recent decades which marked the successful emergence and proliferation of craft beer brewing. Our study has implications for research on collective identity and organizational legacy, and we stress the importance of taking a historical lens for understanding present day phenomena.

Organizational Fields as Mnemonic Communities

“…Instead, some authors (Rowlinson et al, 2010) argue that a more convincing and accurate conception of organizational memory is as a collective phenomenon that is qualitatively different from the individual, psychological remembrance of the world. Following this observation, some scholars recognize distinct mechanisms influencing the social processes of remembering in and around organizations (Mena, Rintamäki, Fleming, & Spicer, 2016;Ocasio, Mauskapf, & Steele, 2016), and recent research has focused on material practices of remembering (Decker, 2014), the narrative dimension of memory (Adorisio, 2014), and the re-presentation of the past as collective claims (Lamertz, Foster, Coraiola, & Kroezen, 2016).…”

“…While much in social mnemonics can be attributed to emerging dynamics, there is an increasing recognition of the purposive attempts of specific social actors in controlling processes of social remembering (Mena et al, 2016) and using history strategically (Foster, Coraiola, Suddaby, Kroezen, & Chandler, 2016). Beyond the frontiers of the organizations, where the past can be mobilized to generate continuity or change (Brunninge, 2009;Maclean et al, 2014;Ybema, 2014), managers and entrepreneurs also engage in the production of historical narratives with the purpose of signaling compliance with existing categories and institutions (Hills, Voronov, & Hinings, 2013), challenging or defending the status quo (McGaughey, 2013), and creating new markets and collective identities (Lamertz et al, 2016).…”

The Impact and Implications of Craft Beer Research: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review

“…Lamertz et al (2016) argue that the popularity of the craft brewery culture in Ontario is a result of the creation of a new collective identity by local brewery entrepreneurs. The authors hold that local breweries were able to recover important identity narratives from the industry's past, which led to this creation of a new collective identity.…”

“…The authors hold that local breweries were able to recover important identity narratives from the industry's past, which led to this creation of a new collective identity. It is argued by Lamertz et al (2016) that craft breweries in the region revived the ancestral meanings of beer brewing as a community activity and craft. They did this through the return of small batch brewing technology, the resurrection of old product styles, and the reinvention of the tavern as an important part of the distribution chain.…”

Technology, production paradigm and operation: Transformation of Brazilian brewing sector

“…Recently, diverse studies have explored the transformation in industrial brewing reality and emphasized the relation of society rationality, beer production and technology Civil, 1991;Lamertz, Foster, Coraiola, & Kroezen, 2016;McGahan, 1998;Poelmans & Swinnen, 2011c;Stack, 2000;Toro-gonzalez, 2017;White, 2016)brewing and business history\u2019. Following the BEERONOMICS conference held at the University of York, 2013, and the subsequent approval of the editorial board of Business History, we received many submissions discussing beer, brewing, and their importance to business history (broadly defined.…”