The Impact of Organizational Field Position on Recombinant Innovation

• In Event: 026 - Regular Session. Economic Sociology: Categories, Category Combination, and Evaluation in Markets

Abstract

We examine the influence that an organization’s position within a field has on the propensity to innovate. We combine neo-institutional theory and population ecology to conceptualize the propensity to innovate as influenced by the interaction of structural position and breadth of product offering, which in turn impact both the desire and capacity to innovate. We test our hypotheses using an original dataset comprising all of the television shows broadcast in the United States between 1980 and 2009. Our findings validate our conceptualization of field position and demonstrate that the four ideal type conditions defined differentially and significantly predict recombinant innovation. Specifically, we find that peripheral generalists are the most likely and peripheral specialists are the least likely to introduce new types of television programs.

Authors

• Jo-Ellen Pozner, University of California-Berkeley

• Emily S. Block, University of Notre Dame

• Karen W. Patterson, University of New Mexico