On the genesis of organizational forms: Evidence from the market for disk arrays

This article asks a basic question of organizational evolution: When and wh ere will a new organizational form emerge? Using a definition of organizati onal forms as external identity codes, we focus on two answers drawn from c ontemporary organization theory. The first holds that formal institutions s uch as industry associations and standard-setting bodies will result in a t aken-for-granted organizational form. The second answer contends that incre asing organizational density (number of organizations) will generate a legi timated organizational form. As reported here, a historical case study of t he disk array market and its associated technologies finds both arguments l imited. Although significant collective activity in association building an d standard setting occurs among disk array producers, these have not yet le d to an organizational form. Similarly, an observed trajectory of organizat ional density showing rapid growth followed by stabilization has not yet ge nerated an ora ganizational form. In our view, the diversity of origins and other activities of those organizations operating in this market work agai nst institutionalization of the disk array organizational form. We reason t hat if firms in the market derive their primary identities from other activ ities (implying that there are few highly focused firms deriving their prim ary identity from disk arrays), then the disk array producer identity canno t cohere into a code or form. This conclusion suggests a respecification of the legitimation component of the density-dependent model of organizationa l evolution.