Following the Letter of the Law : the Effect of Formal Codification on Categorical Identity in the U

Actors in a market affiliate with various categories, which undergo different processes of legitimation, both informal and formal, over time. This paper explores the role of formal codification in the categorization of identity under social movement processes. Using the identity claims of U.S. organic food wholesalers from 1988 through 2001, I find that the enactment of state laws, a type of formalized legal code, changed the profile of those market actors who chose to claim the “organic” label. Organizations attain legitimation and the capacity to mobilize resources through their stated goals (Hannan and Freeman 1984). The identification of these goals often arises through a process of self-categorization in which social identity claims and, consequently, stated organizational goals, are shaped by the external environment (Tajfel and Turner 1986). The extent to which organizational actors choose to affiliate with a certain social identity may thus change over time because of contextual dependence on a changing external environment (DiMaggio 1991). Under social movement processes in particular, the external environment often experiences extremely rapid change as movement participants seek both social and political reforms. This means that the types of actors who claim a specific social identity can evolve, transforming the meaning of the identity itself, based on varying environmental effects. Identities are generally assigned to both an individual organization and the collective group with which it affiliates. In this paper, I analyze collective identity transformation in the market for organic food owing to the enactment of state laws governing organics campaigned for by movement activists. Identity-based approaches to organizational classification advocate the use of boundaries to analyze deeper changes in