"Category Taken-for-grantedness as a Strategic Opportunity: The Case of Light Cigarettes, 1964-1993"

Abstract

Theories within organizational and economic sociology that center on market categories often equate taken-for-grantedness with increased constraint on the features of category members. In contrast, we develop a novel perspective that considers how market participants’ changing category-related attributions decrease their scrutiny of category offerings, opening up strategic opportunities for firms. We further argue that whether or not producers should be expected to take advantage of these opportunities depends on the extent to which they are incentivized to do so. We use the case of the light cigarette category to test this thesis. We argue and find evidence that increasing taken-for- grantedness of the light cigarette category created greater opportunity for tobacco firms to strategically manipulate category features.

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