The Categorical Imperative and Structural Reproduction: Dynamics of Technological Entry in the Semiconductor Industry

Gianluca Carnabuci (), Elisa Operti () and Balázs Kovács ()
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Gianluca Carnabuci: Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Elisa Operti: ESSEC Business School Paris, 95021 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex, France
Balázs Kovács: Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland; and Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520

Organization Science, 2015, vol. 26, issue 6, 1734-1751

Abstract: Extant organizational literature argues that straddling institutionalized categories begets an illegitimacy discount, leading organizations to reproduce established categorical boundaries. If gaining legitimacy requires compliance with this “categorical imperative,” why do we frequently observe categorical straddling even in uncontested and fully institutionalized categorical structures? To address this question, we propose that de novo (i.e., newly founded) and de alio (i.e., diversifying) organizations respond differently to the categorical imperative. Specifically, de novo organizations are more likely to enter and fit in high-contrast categories than in low-contrast ones, whereas the opposite is true for de alio entrants. To test these hypotheses, we follow technological entry dynamics within the semiconductor industry between 1976 and 2002. Using patent information, we examine how category contrast affects which technological categories de novo and de alio organizations enter, and the performance associated with those entry events. A comprehensive set of empirical analyses lend support to our hypotheses. Besides clarifying the link between the categorical imperative and structural reproduction, this study bears implications for entrepreneurship and strategy research on entry dynamics.

Keywords: categorical imperative; category contrast; technological entry; strategy; de novo organizations; de alio organizations; patents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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