The role of categories and categorization has been widely explored in organization and management theory. Much attention has been paid to category extension, emergence and creation, from the perspective of institutional theory. However, this extant literature assumes that categories and categorization are universal modes of thinking, organizing and managing, despite a lack of research on category work in non-Western cultures. In this poster presentation, we argue that the tendency to categorize is pre-eminently a Western phenomenon. After reviewing the reasons for the lesser importance of categories in the Chinese culture, we investigate how this lack affects organizing and managing practices, especially the exploration of new boundaries in innovation. Our argument is that the limited role of categorization propels innovation, creativity and exploration, enabling organizational actors to think outside the box set by categories. To illustrate this argument, we use qualitative data from an empirical study of food and design innovation in independent coffee shops in Shanghai, China. Specifically, we selected the case study of a coffee shop whose baristas are blurring boundaries between food and coffee, creating novel coffee-based beverages that are reminiscent of Chinese traditional food. We argue that a similar approach is observable also in other sectors in the food, design, and creative industries. Our study contributes to organization and management theory by showing how the neglect of categories and categorization may lead to alternative paths to innovation. It also contributes to recent calls to decolonize organization and management theory, by including non-Western cultures and modes of thinking.
