The Social Lives of Products:<i>Analyzing Product Demography for Management Theory and Practice</i>

Carroll, Glenn R.; Khessina, Olga M.; McKendrick, David

doi:10.1080/19416521003732362

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(199 reference statements)

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“…Likewise, the production of certain types of Scotch whiskey, specifically, single malt whiskey, connotes a set of organizational codes based on opposition to mass production, support of localness, and distinctive and assertive flavor profiles that can be traced back to the unique regions or distilleries that produce them (McKendrick & Hannan, 2014). Indeed, products themselves often serve as touchstones not only for the values and standards of organizations but also for the broader evolution of the industries and product categories that emerge (Carroll, Khessina, & McKendrick, 2010; Khessina & Carroll, 2008).…”

Section: Theory Development and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guilty by Association: Product-Level Category Stigma and Audience Expectations in the U.S. Craft Beer Industry

Barlow

Verhaal

Hoskins

2016

Journal of Management

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While researchers have been increasingly interested in the notion of category stigma, they have largely focused on stigmatized industry categories. Because products serve as a key interface between producers and consumers, we suggest that product categories should play a prominent role in the stigmatization process. Product category stigma occurs when a product category is seen as violating the expectations of its audience members. We argue that when an organization offers a product from a stigmatized category, it is subject to lower evaluations and higher penalties from the stigmatizing audience, regardless of its true underlying quality. Further, when an organization is perceived as increasing its engagement in a stigmatized category, the lower evaluations transfer to the organization’s other products. Finally, we argue that an organization’s reputation for quality actually amplifies this stigma penalty. We find support for our hypotheses in a sample of online reviews for the U.S. craft brewing industry.

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Section: Theory Development and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guilty by Association: Product-Level Category Stigma and Audience Expectations in the U.S. Craft Beer Industry

Barlow

Verhaal

Hoskins

2016

Journal of Management

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“…Typical products usually enjoy advantages in exchanges, because they are easier for audiences to recognize and understand. Typicality allows audiences to establish criteria of legitimacy and merit, thereby enabling search, appraisal, and selection among products (Carroll et al, 2010). By conforming to categorical codes, producers can also signal their capability and commitment, which often results in favorable audience evaluation (Hsu et al, 2009).…”

Section: Categories and Typicalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cross-country exchanges deserve attention because countries usually differ in defining what is typical and what is not (Bourdieu, 1984; Carroll et al, 2010). Countries tend to specialize and develop along their unique paths (Reinecke et al, 2012).…”

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Typical products for outside audiences: The role of typicality when products traverse countries

Ubisch

Wang

2023

Strategic Organization

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While organization theorists have established the importance of typicality, most studies examine situations where producers and audiences dwell within the same category system (e.g., a country, industry, or market). However, much less attention is paid to the role of typicality when products are introduced from one system to another. Since defining what is typical is commonly system-specific, typical products in one category system may be perceived as being atypical in others. It is therefore important to understand how typicality shapes market exchanges when products traverse category systems. To shed light on this, we introduce two key concepts—home typicality and host typicality—and examine specifically how they affect the performance of products distributed across countries. By analyzing a large sample of films, we find that films are more successful in international markets, when they are more typical of their home countries and/or more atypical of their host countries.

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“…Product price. We also included a few product-level control variables (Carroll et al, 2010). We included product price, adjusted for inflation rate, as a control variable because prior research has shown that product price affects the market performance of a product.…”

Section: Control Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A product that is not a market success, therefore, can still provide a firm with important opportunities to acquire new knowledge and develop new capabilities (Wernerfelt, 1984). Although new product survival has been examined from many theoretical perspectives (Carroll, Khessina, & McKendrick, 2010), we still know very little about how capability stretching affects new product survival. We believe that examining the impact of capability stretching on new product survival may help us better understand the tension between product market performance and capability development and may also allow us to identify mechanisms through which firms manage this tension (Denrell & March, 2001;March, 1991;Wernerfelt).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Capability Stretching in Product Innovation

Wang

Chen

2015

Journal of Management

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Product innovation is conventionally treated as a mechanism for organizations to renew their product portfolios. In this paper, we suggest that product innovation not only enables organizations to introduce new products to the market but also challenges organizations to renew their technological capabilities. Capability stretching is the degree to which an organization extends its technological capabilities to bridge the gap between what it has already known and what the development of a new product requires it to know. Capability stretching can be challenging because it involves the acquisition and assimilation of new and distant knowledge. Drawing on a longitudinal study of product introductions in the workstation industry, we find that capability stretching reduces the chance of new product survival. Furthermore, we also find that organizational boundaries moderate the negative relationship between capability stretching and product survival: Vertical integration exacerbates this negative relationship, whereas horizontal boundary mitigates this negative relationship. However, capability stretching can also be rewarding, as it renews technological capabilities and therefore facilitates adaptation to technological changes. We draw implications for the linkages between product innovation and capability development.

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The Social Lives of Products:Analyzing Product Demography for Management Theory and Practice

Cited by 13 publications

References 71 publications

Guilty by Association: Product-Level Category Stigma and Audience Expectations in the U.S. Craft Beer Industry

Guilty by Association: Product-Level Category Stigma and Audience Expectations in the U.S. Craft Beer Industry

Typical products for outside audiences: The role of typicality when products traverse countries

Capability Stretching in Product Innovation

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