Research on categories in the sociology of organizations

Abstract

The concept of a ‘‘category’’ and the social process of ‘‘categorization’’ occupy a crucial place in current theories of organizations. In this introductory chapter to Research in the Sociology of Organization’s volume on Categories in Markets: Origins and Evolution, we review published work in various streams of research and find that studies of organizational forms and identities, institutional logics, collective action frames, and product conceptual systems have key commonalities and predictable differences.