This study illuminates how new markets emerge and how social movements can effect cultural change through market creation. We suggest that social movements can fuel solutions to three challenges in creating new market segments: entrepreneurial production, the creation of collective producer identities, and the establishment of regular exchange between producers and consumers. We use qualitative data on the grassroots coalition movement that has spurred a market for grass-fed meat and dairy products in the United States since the early 1990s. Our analysis shows that the movement's participants mobilized broad cultural codes and that these codes motivated producers to enter and persist in a nascent market, shaped their choices about production and exchange technologies, enabled a collective identity, and formed the basis of the products' exchange value.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbrahamsonE.FombrunC. J.1994“Macrocultures: Determinants and consequences”. Academy of Management Review, 19: 728–755.
AldrichH. E.MartinezM. A.2001“Many are called, but few are chosen: An evolutionary perspective for the study of entrepreneurship”. Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, 25: 41–56.
4.
AlexanderJ. C.2004“Cultural pragmatics: Social performance between ritual and strategy”. Sociological Theory, 22: 527–573.
5.
AlexanderJ. C.2006The Civil Sphere. New York: Oxford University Press.
6.
BarleyS. R.1983“Semiotics and the study of occupational and organizational culture”. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28: 393–413.
7.
BarthesR.1967Elements of Semiology. London: Jonathan Cape.
8.
BeckerH.1995“The power of inertia”. Qualitative Sociology, 18: 301–309.
9.
BelascoW. J.2007Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry, 2d ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
10.
BenfordR. D.SnowD. A.2000“Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment”. Annual Review of Sociology, 26: 611–639.
11.
BeverlandM. B.2005“Crafting brand authenticity: The case of luxury wines”. Journal of Management Studies, 52: 1003–1029.
12.
BourdieuP.2005“Principles of an economic anthropology”. In SmelserN. J.SwedbergR. (eds.), Handbook of Economic Sociology: 75–89. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
13.
CampbellJ. L.2005“Where do we stand? Common mechanisms in organizations and social movements research”. In DavisG. F.McAdamD.ScottW. R.ZaldM. N. (eds.), Social Movements and Organization Theory: 41–68. New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
CantorR. A.HenryS.RaynerS.1992Making Markets: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Economic Exchange. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
15.
CarrollG. R.DobrevS.SwaminathanA.2002“Organizational processes of resource partitioning”. In StawB. M.KramerR. M. (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 24: 1–40. New York: Elsevier/JAI.
16.
CarrollG. R.SwaminathanA.2000“Why the microbrewery movement? Organizational dynamics of resource partitioning in the U.S. brewing industry”. American Journal of Sociology, 106: 715–762.
17.
ClancyK.2006Greener Pastures: How Grass-fed Beef and Milk Contribute to Healthy Eating. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists.
18.
ClemensE. S.2005“Two kinds of stuff: The current encounter of social movements and organizations”. In DavisG. F.McAdamD.ScottW. R.ZaldM. N. (eds.), Social Movements and Organization Theory: 351–365. New York: Cambridge University Press.
19.
CsikszentmihalyiM.Rochberg-HaltonE.1981The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self. New York: Cambridge University Press.
20.
DavisG. F.McAdamD.ScottW. R.ZaldM. N., (eds.) 2005Social Movements and Organization Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press.
21.
DiMaggioP. J.1994“Culture and economy”. In SmelserN. J.SwedbergR. (eds.), The Handbook of Economic Sociology: 27–57. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
22.
DouglasM.WildavskyA.1982Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technical and Environmental Dangers. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
23.
EisenhardtK. M.1989“Building theories from case study research”. Academy of Management Review, 14: 532–550.
24.
ElsbachK. D.1994“Managing organizational legitimacy in the California cattle industry: The construction and effectiveness of verbal accounts”. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39: 57–88.
25.
FeldmanM. S.1995Strategies for Interpreting Qualitative Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
FineG. A.2003“Crafting authenticity: The validation of authenticity in self-taught art”. Theory and Society, 32: 153–180.
27.
FineG. A.2004Everyday Genius: Self-taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
28.
FligsteinN. J.1996“Markets as politics: A political-cultural approach to market institutions”. American Sociological Review, 61: 656–673.
29.
FligsteinN. J.DauterL.2007“The sociology of markets”. Annual Review of Sociology, 33: 6.1–6.24.
30.
Fourcade-GourinchasM.2007“Theories of markets and theories of society”. American Behavioral Scientist, 50: 1015–1034.
31.
Fourcade-GourinchasM.HealyK.2007“Moral views of market society”. Annual Review of Sociology, 33: 285–311.
32.
FromartzS.2007Organic, Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew. New York: Harvest Books.
33.
GartmanD.2002“Bourdieu's theory of cultural change: Explication, application, critique”. Sociological Theory, 20: 255–277.
34.
GladwinT. N.KennellyJ. J.KrauseT.-S.1995“Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: Implications for management theory and research”. Academy of Management Journal, 20: 874–907.
35.
GraysonK.MartinecR.2004“Consumer perceptions of iconicity and indexicality and their influence on assessments of authentic market offerings”. Journal of Consumer Research, 31: 296–312.
36.
GreimasA.1983Structural Semantics: An Attempt at a Method. McDowellD.SchleiferR.VelleA., trans, and eds. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
37.
HaidtJ.2001“The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment”. Psychological Review, 108: 814–834.
38.
HaiweilB.2004Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket. New York: Norton.
39.
HartS. L.1995“A natural-resource-based view of the firm”. Academy of Management Review, 20: 986–1014.
40.
HavemanH. A.RaoH.ParuchuriS.2007“The winds of change: The progressive movement and the bureaucratization of thrift”. American Sociological Review, 72: 117–142.
41.
HessD. J.2004“Organic food and agriculture in the U.S.: Object conflict in a health-environmental social movement”. Science as Culture, 13: 493–513.
42.
HitlinS.2003“Values as the core of personal identity: Drawing links between two theories of self”. Social Psychological Quarterly, 66: 118–137.
43.
HoffmanA. J.2001From Heresy to Dogma: An Institutional History of Corporate Environmentalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
44.
IngramM.IngramH.2005“Creating credible edibles: The alternative agriculture movement and passage of U.S. federal organic standards”. In MeyerD. S.JennessV.IngramH. (eds.), Routing the Opposition: Social Movements, Public Policy, and Democracy: 121–148. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
45.
JasperJ. M.1997The Art of Moral Protest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
46.
JohnstonH.KlandermansB., (eds.) 1995Social Movements and Culture. New York: Routledge.
47.
JohnstonH.NoakesJ. A.2005“Frames of protest: Social movements and the framing perspective.”New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
48.
Knorr-CetinaK.BrueggerU.2002“Global microstructures: The virtual societies of financial markets”. American Journal of Sociology, 107: 905–950.
49.
LamontM.MolnárV.2002“The study of boundaries in the social sciences”. Annual Review of Sociology, 28: 167–195.
50.
La TrobeH.2001“Farmers' markets: Consuming local rural produce”. Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics, 25: 181–192.
51.
Levi-StraussC.1974Structural Anthropology. New York: Basic Books.
52.
LizardoO.2006“How cultural tastes shape personal networks”. American Sociological Review, 71: 778–807.
53.
LounsburyM.2005“Institutional variation in the evolution of social movements: Competing logics and the spread of recycling advocacy groups”. In DavisG. F.McAdamD.ScottW. R.ZaldM. N. (eds.), Social Movements and Organization Theory: 73–95. New York: Cambridge University Press.
54.
LounsburyM.GlynnM. A.2001“Cultural entrepreneurship: Stories, legitimacy, and the acquisition of resources”. Strategic Management Journal, 22: 545–564.
55.
LounsburyM.VentrescaM. J.HirschP.2003“Social movements, field frames and industry emergence: A cultural-political perspective on US recycling”. Socio-Economic Review, 1: 71–104.
56.
LysonT. A.GillespieG. W.HilcheyD.1995“Farmers' markets and the local community: Bridging the formal and informal economy”. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 10: 108–113.
57.
ManningP. K.1987Semiotics and Fieldwork. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
58.
McAdamD.TarrowS.TillyC.2001Dynamics of Contention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
59.
MelucciA.1996Challenging Codes: Collective Action in the Information Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
60.
MickD. G.1986“Consumer research and semiotics: Exploring the morphology of signs, symbols, and significance”. Journal of Consumer Research, 13: 196–213.
61.
MillsC. W.1940“Situated actions and vocabularies of motive”. American Sociological Review, 5: 904–913.
62.
NaffzigerD. W.HornsbyJ. S.KuratkoD. F.1994“A proposed research model for entrepreneurial motivation”. Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, 18: 29–41.
63.
PeirceC. S.1955“Abduction and induction”. In BuchlerJ. (ed.), Philosophical Writings of Peirce: 150–156. New York: Dover.
64.
PetersonR. A.1997Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
65.
PolanyiK.1971“The economy as instituted process”. In PolanyiK.ArensbergC.PearsonH. (eds.), Trade and Market in the Early Empires: Economies in History and Theory: 248–306. Chicago: Henry Regnery.
66.
PollanM.2006The Omnivore's Dilemma. New York: Penguin.
67.
PolosL.HannanM. T.CarrollG. R.2002“Foundations of a theory of social forms”. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11: 85–115.
68.
PoracJ. F.ThomasH.WilsonF.PatonD.KanferA.1995“Rivalry and the industry model of Scottish knitwear producers”. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40: 203–227.
69.
RaoH.GiorgiS.2006“Code breaking: How cultural entrepreneurs exploit cultural logics to generate institutional change”. In StawB. M. (ed.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 27: 279–314. New York: Elsevier/JAI.
70.
RaoH.MoninP.DurandR.2003“Institutional change in Toque Ville: Nouvelle cuisine as an identity movement in French gastronomy”. American Journal of Sociology, 108: 795–843.
71.
RaoH.MoninP.DurandR.2005“Border crossing: Bricolage and the erosion of categorical boundaries in French gastronomy”. American Sociological Review, 70: 968–991.
72.
RaoH.MorrillC.ZaldM. N.2000“Power plays: How social movements and collective action create new organizational forms”. In StawB. M.SuttonR. I. (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 22: 239–282. New York: Elsevier/JAI.
73.
RobinsonJ.2004Pasture Perfect. Vashon, WA: Vashon Island Press.
74.
RokeachM.1973The Nature of Human Values. New York: Free Press.
75.
RuefM.2000“The emergence of organizational forms: A community ecology approach”. American Journal of Sociology, 106: 658–714.
76.
SchneibergM.2002“Organizational heterogeneity and the production of new forms: Politics, social movements and mutual companies in American fire insurance, 1900–1930”. In LounsburyM.VentrescaM. J. (eds.), Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 19: 39–89. New York: Elsevier/JAI.
77.
SchurmanR.2004“Fighting ‘Frankenfoods’: Industry opportunity structures and the efficacy of the anti-biotech movement in Western Europe”. Social Problems, 51: 243–268.
78.
SchurmanR.2006“Ideas, thinkers, and social networks: The process of grievance construction in the anti-genetic engineering movement”. Theory and Society, 35: 1–38.
79.
SchwartzS. C.1992“The universal content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries”. In ZannaM. P. (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25: 1–62. New York: Academic Press.
80.
ScottW. R.RuefM.MendelP.CaronnaC.2000Institutional Change and Healthcare Organizations: From Professional Dominance to Managed Care. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
81.
SeoM.-G.CreedW. E. D.2002“Institutional contradictions, praxis, and institutional change: A dialectic perspective”. Academy of Management Review, 27: 222–247.
82.
SewellW. H.1992“A theory of structure: Duality, agency and transformation”. American Journal of Sociology, 98: 1–29.
83.
SineW. D.HavemanH. A.TolbertP. S.2005“Risky business? Entrepreneurship in the new independent-power sector”. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50: 200–232.
84.
SineW. D.LeeB. H.2009“Tilting at windmills? The environmental movement and the emergence of the U.S. wind energy sector”. Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 54 (forthcoming).
85.
SnowD. A.BenfordR. D.1988“Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization”. International Social Movement Research, 1: 197–217.
SpillmanL.1999“Enriching exchange: Cultural dimensions of markets”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 58: 1047–1071.
88.
SwedbergR.2005“Markets in society”. In SmelserN. J.SwedbergR. (eds.), Handbook of Economic Sociology: 233–253. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
89.
SwidlerA.1986“Culture in action: Symbols and strategies”. American Sociological Review, 51: 273–286.
90.
SwidlerA.1995“Cultural power and social movements”. In JohnstonH.KlandermansB. (eds.), Social Movements and Culture: 25–40. New York: Routledge.
91.
SwidlerA.2001Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
92.
TarrowS. G.1998Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.
93.
TaylorC.1991The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
94.
ThorntonP. H.2004Markets from Culture: Institutional Logics and Organizational Decisions in Higher Education Publishing. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
95.
ThorntonP. H.OcasioW.1999“Institutional logics and the historical contingency of power in organizations: Executive succession in the higher education publishing industry, 1958–1990”. American Journal of Sociology, 105: 801–843.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service2006“Background statistics.”http://www.ers.usda.gov/.
98.
VaiseyS.2007“On justification (and motivation): A dual-process model of culture in action”. Culture, 21: 1–5.
99.
Van de VenA. H.1999The Innovation Journey. London: Oxford University Press.
100.
VoisinA.1959Grass Productivity. Washington, DC: Island Press.
101.
WherryF. F.2006“The social sources of authenticity in global handy-craft markets”. Journal of Consumer Culture, 6: 5–32.
102.
WhiteH. C.1981“Where do markets come from?”American Journal of Sociology, 87: 517–547.
103.
WhiteH. C.2000“Modeling discourse in and around markets”. Poetics, 27: 117–133.
104.
WhiteH. C.2002Markets from Networks: Socioeconomic Models of Production. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
105.
WilliamsA. R.2006a“Grass-fed beef is hot.” Unpublished manuscript, Rose Bud, AK.
106.
WilliamsA. R.2006b“Natural/organic opportunities: Current status and future projections.”Rose Bud, AK: Jacob Alliance LLC.
107.
ZelizerV. A.1983Morals and Markets: The Development of Life Insurance in the United States. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
108.
ZelizerV. A.2005“Culture and consumption”. In SmelserN. J.SwedbergR. (eds.), Handbook of Economic Sociology: 331–354. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
