New identities from remnants of the past: an examination of the history of beer brewing in Ontario and the recent emergence of craft breweries

Kai Lamertz, William M. Foster, Diego M. Coraiola, Jochem Kroezen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present an exploratory analysis of historical narratives and data covering 200 years of beer brewing in the Canadian province of Ontario. These data are used to illuminate the process of collective identity emergence in established organisational fields. We argue that established fields are typically littered with identity remnants from ancestral organisations and related institutional configurations that can facilitate the successful emergence of new collective identities. In our analysis we first show how multiple identity elements fell by the wayside as the beer brewing field matured and settled on a corporate path. We go on to detail how some of these identity elements were subsequently recovered during the recent decades which marked the successful emergence and proliferation of craft beer brewing. Our study has implications for research on collective identity and organisational legacy, and we stress the importance of taking a historical lens for understanding present day phenomena.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)796-828
Number of pages33
JournalBusiness History
Volume58
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Jul. 2016

Keywords

  • Beer brewing
  • Canada
  • Ontario
  • collective identity
  • identity remnants
  • industry evolution

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