The Dynamics of (De)Stigmatization: Boundary construction in the nascent category of organic farming

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openAccess

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Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2020-07-01

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

26
993-1018

Series

Organization Studies, Volume 41, issue 7

Abstract

This study finds that it is possible for organizations in emerging categories to resist stigmatization through discursive reconstruction of the central and distinctive characteristics of the category in question. We examined the emerging market of organic farming in Finland and discovered how resistance to stigmatization was both an internal and an external power struggle in the organic farming community. Over time, the label of organic farming was manipulated and the practice of farming was associated with more conventional and familiar contexts, while the stigma was diverted at the same time to biodynamic farming. We develop a process model for removal of stigma from a nascent category through stigma diversion. We find that stigma diversion forces the core community to (re)define themselves in relation to the excluded community and the mainstream. We also discuss how notoriety can be an individuating phenomenon that helps categorical members conduct identity work and contributes to stigma removal.

Description

doi: 10.1177/0170840620905167

Keywords

categorical stigma, destigmatization, discourse analysis, domination, market category, organic farming, power, resistance

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Citation

Siltaoja, M E, Lähdesmäki, M, Granqvist, N, Kurki, S, Puska, P & Luomala, H 2020, ' The Dynamics of (De)Stigmatization : Boundary construction in the nascent category of organic farming ', Organization Studies, vol. 41, no. 7, 0170840620905167, pp. 993-1018 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620905167