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11 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Becoming a Cognitive Referent: Market Creation and Cultural Strategy

by Rory McDonald

Overview — Rory McDonald describes the making of a "cognitive referent," which is a firm that customers, the media, analysts, and employees automatically associate with a new market category--think Starbucks and coffee.

Author Abstract

Research has examined firms' use of rhetoric and symbolic activities in the process of creating new markets. This study analyzes how entrepreneurial firms use these cultural strategies to position themselves in a nascent market category they are creating.

Paper Information

Full Working Paper Text
Working Paper Publication Date: February 2016
HBS Working Paper Number: 16-095
Faculty Unit(s): Technology and Operations Management

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Associate Professor of Business Administration

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