Resumen de Field formation in the presence of diversity: a study of the emergence and evolution of venture philanthropy in Europe
When a new industry or organizational field is formed, organizations that share certain features realize that they are interdependent and start to advance a common agenda. Field construction is an entrepreneurial project that involves many types of actors facing enormous challenges. One of the most important challenges is that of achieving legitimacy for the new field. Practitioners in emerging fieleds have a double legitimacy hurdle- they have to gain legitimacy both for their individual organizations and for the field as a whole. This dissertation proposes that collective identity is a critical antecedent to the legimitation and institutionalization of an emerging organizational field. If organizations manage to identify collectively with the new field, they can resolve issues around boundaries, branding to an external audience, producing guidelines of best practice, setting up training programs, and other activities that will ultimately enhance the legitimacy of the field.
