Blocked Seminar PhD Students - Strategy- Apply now

The aim of this seminar is to reflect on the recent expansion of category research in markets. This collection of articles points to categories as social, cognitive, and strategic constructions, accomplishments that result in actors stabilizing their conceptions of who is a member in a market category and what are the consequences of remaining so. It is the purpose of this seminar to acquaint participants with some of the issues of market category creation and development using several lenses to examine the advantages accruing to those who can countervail the imperatives of category membership. Much research in the study of categories in economics, sociology, and strategy assumes away the category definition problem by using conventional or convenient conceptualizations (e.g., formal industrial classifications, industry reports, third parties’ aggregations, etc.). This course takes the position that there are many very interesting and important issues that are missed when one assumes that market categories pre-exist competition and strategy in the first place.

Sign up now