City Research Online

Abstract

Categories that become taken-for-granted tend to acquire rule-like standing. That is, people begin to strongly expect certain behaviors from entities that have claimed affiliation with them, and these expectations tend to induce conformity. However, conformity does not always ensue, and we lack an explanation of why the effects of category taken-for-grantedness might diverge. In this paper, we propose that the effects of increasing category taken-for-grantedness hinge upon an organization’s identity. We first argue that the relationship between organizational identity and the likelihood of conformity is U-shaped, with insiders and outsiders being more likely to conform relative to those with middling identities. We then propose that greater category taken-for-grantedness should reduce scrutiny for those whose identities mark them as more of insiders, subsequently making them less likely to conform. In contrast, outsiders become more likely to conform as taken-for-grantedness increases. We test our arguments in the empirical context of Islamic banking, using data on 118 Islamic banks worldwide between 2001 and 2014. We examine the likelihood that banks in the sector make what are known as zakat payments as a function of category takenfor-grantedness and the extent to which a bank’s identity is Islamic. We discuss implications for the literatures on categories, identity, and religion.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Social Forces following peer review. The version of record Syakhroza, Maima Aulia and Paolella, Lionel (2020). Beyond the Insider-Outsider Divide: Heterogenous Effects of Organizational Identity and Category Taken-for-grantedness on Conformity. Social Forces, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaa081
Publisher Keywords:	category, identity, legitimation, religion, Islamic banks
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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