Eingereicht von Daniel Semper Angefertigt am Institut für Organisation und globale Managementstudien Erstbeurteiler / -beurteilerin Prof. Giuseppe Delmestri Zweitbeurteiler/ -beurteilerin Prof. Werner Auer-Rizzi Mitbetreuung Prof. Royston Greenwood MARKET CATEGORY May 2017 DYNAMICS AND STATUS RE-POSITIONING Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Dr.rer.soc.oec. im Doktoratsstudium Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITÄT LINZ Altenberger Straße 69 4040 Linz, Österreich www.jku.at DVR 0093696 I hereby declare that the thesis submitted is my own unaided work, that I have not used other than the sources indicated, and that all direct and indirect sources are acknowledged as references. This printed thesis is identical with the electronic version submitted. Linz, 22. May 2017 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. THE THEORETICAL LENS ...................................................................................................... 3 1.2. METHODS .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.3. CONTRIBUTIONS .................................................................................................................... 10 1.4. STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................................. 11 2. THEORY ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2.1. MARKET CATEGORIES, INSTITUTIONS AND COGNITIVE MAPS ........................... 13 2.2. ALTERNATIVE VIEWS ON CATEGORIES: STRATEGY VS. RESPONSES ............... 18 2.3. CATEGORY STRUCTURES ................................................................................................... 22 2.3.1. HORIZONTAL EXPANSION ............................................................................................... 22 2.3.2. VERTICAL ORDERING ........................................................................................................ 23 2.3.3. STATUS DYNAMICS ............................................................................................................ 26 2.4. AUTHENTICITY OF CATEGORIES ..................................................................................... 27 2.5. STIGMATIZED CATEGORIES .............................................................................................. 32 2.6. CATEGORY DYNAMICS ........................................................................................................ 35 2.7. THE ROLE OF THE PROFESSION IN THE THEORIZATION OF CHANGE .............. 38 2.8. GAPS IN THE LITERATURE AND RESEARCH QUESTION ......................................... 42 3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 48 3.1. DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................ 49 3.1.1. INTERVIEWS ......................................................................................................................... 52 3.1.2. ARCHIVAL DATA .................................................................................................................. 54 3.1.3. OBSERVATIONS ................................................................................................................... 57 3.2. DATA ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 58 3.3. TRUSTWORTHINESS ............................................................................................................. 60 4. RESEARCH CONTEXT ............................................................................................................... 64 4.1. A SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN WINE ............................ 64 4.2. PENFOLDS GRANGE .............................................................................................................. 68 4.3. CASELLA’S YELLOW TAIL .................................................................................................... 73 4.4. THE ROSEWORTHY COLLEGE ............................................................................................ 76 4.5. AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN WINE INDUSTRY ..................... 78 4.6. THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT .............................................................. 85 5. FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................................... 89 5.1. AUSTRALIA AND ITS COLONIAL PAST ............................................................................ 89 5.2. STRIKING NEW PATHS ......................................................................................................... 95 5.3. CREATING AND CELEBRATING THE MYTH OF SCIENCE AND PROGRESS ...... 102 5.3.1. CELEBRATING THE GRANGE ........................................................................................ 107 5.3.2. CELEBRATING THE YELLOW TALE. ............................................................................ 110 5.3.3. TAKING PRIDE IN SCIENCE ........................................................................................... 113 5.3.4. DEMOCRATIZATION OF WINE DRINKING ................................................................. 115 5.4. A FEELING OF SUPERIORITY TOWARDS THE OLD WORLD ................................... 118 5.4.1. SHOWCASING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ........................................................... 125 5.4.2. PARALLEL NARRATIVES OF TRADITION AND MODERNITY ............................... 126 5.5. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 139 6. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 141 6.1. THEORIZING CHANGE: A GROUNDED MODEL OF GRADUAL CONFRONTATION THROUGH NON-CONFORMITY .................................................................................................. 143 6.2. PHASE 1: FROM STIGMATIZATION TOWARDS HISTORY DETACHMENT .......... 148 6.2.1. PREPARING THE GROUND FOR CHANGE ................................................................. 149 6.3. PHASE 2: HIGH STATUS NEGLECT - BREAKING THE CATEGORY GLASS CEILING ............................................................................................................................................ 153 6.4. PHASE 3: RE-FOCUSSING - THE MYTHIFICATION OF THE CATEGORY ............. 158 6.5. PHASE 4: REACHING CRITICAL MASS – THE EMERGENCE OF A MIDDLEBROW CATEGORY ...................................................................................................................................... 163 6.6. A FIRST OUTLINE OF A THEORY OF CATEGORY GRAVITY AND ATTENTION 167 6.7. DIS-ENCHANTING AUTHENTICITY ................................................................................. 174 7. CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................. 177 7.1. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ....................................................................... 179 LITERATURE ................................................................................................................................... 182 List of Figures: Figure 1: Data Structure ........................................................................................................................ 51 Figure 2: Timeline of Crucial Events in the Australian Wine Industry .................................................... 68 Figure 3: Langton’s classification .......................................................................................................... 72 Figure 4: Yellow Tail front label ............................................................................................................. 74 Figure 5: Bearing Area of Vineyards, Wine Production and Wine Exports (1986-2013) ....................... 79 Figure 6: Export Volume (1850-2014) ................................................................................................... 80 Figure 7: Number of Wineries (1985-2013) ........................................................................................... 80 Figure 8: R&D Investment in Total and in Percent of Wine Sales ........................................................ 81 Figure 9: Increase in Turnover in Relation to Number of Companies and Employment ....................... 81 Figure 10: Exemplary Rating Developments; Penfolds Grange ............................................................ 83 Figure 11: Premiumization of Wine Plantings by Wine Grape .............................................................. 84 Figure 12: Premiumization in Total: Premium and Non-Premium Shares of Wine Production ............. 84 Figure 13: Landmarks in the Formation of an Australian National Identity ............................................ 88 Figure 14: Penfolds Advertisement: To The Renegades .................................................................... 105 Figure 15: Penfolds Grange Labels over Time: 1954 .......................................................................... 129