Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong U., China
While existing research has largely focused on the creation and emergence of categories, less emphasis has been placed on understanding the mechanisms of category adoption by audiences from a different, misaligned institutional environment. How can firms effectively introduce and adapt new categories in markets with distinctive institutional contexts? We conducted a longitudinal qualitative study on the translation of the cloud computing from US to China. Incorporating topic modelling with grounded analysis, we develop a three-phase process model of category translation. In Phase I, firms engage in category envisioning, addressing the misalignment between technological fictionality and local pragmatic culture. In Phase II, firms position the new category for technical fit to tackle demand ambiguity and infrastructural gaps by exploring technical and value system design. Finally, firms legitimize the new category to achieve institutional fit via overcoming inconsistencies in category meanings. We contribute to the burgeoning category literature by extending the antecedents of category creation and shedding light on the mechanisms by which a new category is adapted to accommodate local audiences. Finally, we bridge the gap in the translation literature by elaborating on the temporality of category translation in different institutional environments.
