Doctoral Dissertation Research: Origination and Emergence of Economic Fields: The Case of Cleantech

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Doctoral Dissertation Research:Origination and Emergence of Economic Fields: The Case of CleantechSES - 1103201Mark Mizruchi (PI)Maria Farkas (co-PI)University of MichiganAbstractHistorically, economic scholarship has viewed the graduate buildup of changing practices as a strong indicator that a new economic field is emerging or forming. Recently, scholars have also found that labels, schemas, and their use by economic actors acquire substantive meaning -- in other words: they matter. But to date, we know little about where these meanings come from, how they are shaped, and to whose advantage. This dissertation asks the following questions. Who are the meaning makers in new economic fields being formed? What are actors trying to accomplish in contributing to meaning construction in a forming field? How do actors assert their preferred meanings and convince other actors to adopt them? To address these questions, this dissertation analyzes the emerging economic sector of cleantech through a mixed methods design. Cleantech is a new sector that comprises firms across industries working on new technologies that enable better use of limited environmental resources. Using a content analysis of press releases form a population of cleantech companies, the project tests hypotheses about what kinds of organizations succeed in creating meaning in a forming field. In a related study based on interviews and observations, the project examines the motivations, strategies and methods cleantech actors use to influence evolving meanings in their economic field. Broader ImpactsTypically, scholars treat the organizational environment in which firms or economic actors operate as an exogenous force. In contrast, this project will examine the degree to which individual firms/organizations act purposively to shape the larger environment in which they operate. Results of this project might inform municipal and state policies that seek to draw emerging economic sectors to their locales.