Exploring the Ways Vape Shops Use Organizational Identity to Respond to the FDA’s Regulatory Categorization

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 16. Organizational Categories and Markets

Abstract

The present study investigates how specialist organizations survive regulatory categorizations despite typically lacking the resources to adhere, relative to generalist firms. We blend ecological and institutional literatures to demonstrate that organizational identities create malleability in the resource space between specialist and generalist organizations to offer the latter more resources needed to survive instances such as the introduction of a regulation. To explore this process, we assessed how vape shop owners and employees used their organizational identities to frame responses to the FDA’s proposed regulatory categorization of e-cigarettes to garner public support. We collected 64 news articles and 865 corresponding comments from May 4th – May 11th, 2016 to capture discussions occurring before and after the FDA announced its plan to re-categorize e-cigarettes as tobacco products on May 5th. We used news articles to assess vape shop owners and employees’ responses. We added additional insights to these responses, by integrating news article comments to understand the perspective of their constituents (e.g., consumers). Thematic analysis revealed that vape shop owners and employees worked to garner public support by using the attributes associated with their identities to frame responses in a manner that bolstered authenticity. First, they categorized e-cigarettes as passion products that they were committed to introducing people to as the product helped them quit traditional cigarettes. Second, they categorized e-cigarettes as customizable products which meant they helped people explore their vaping preferences. Third, they voiced concerns regarding the true intentions behind the FDA’s regulation, which was a sentiment reinforced by their constituents.

Authors

• Dajuan Ferrell, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Celeste Campos-Castillo, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Linnea Laestadius, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee