Celebrity Firms: The Social Construction Of Market Popularity

Abstract

We extend the concept of celebrity from the individual to the firm level of analysis and argue that the high level of public attention and the positive emotional responses that define celebrity increase the economic opportunities available to a firm. We develop a theoretical framework explaining how the media construct firm celebrity by creating a “dramatized reality” in reporting on industry change and firms' actions. Firms contribute to this process by taking nonconforming actions and proactively seeking to manage impressions about themselves.