Behind the one-way mirror: Refraction in the construction of product market categories

This paper asks: how do rivals identify one another? Answers to this question reveal how market categories form. Prior research suggests markets come from analysis of demand, rather than production, as social comparisons among like producers project an image of demand, as if in a one-way mirror. But how do producers determine whom to compare themselves to, especially in nascent markets where definitions are ambiguous and contested? I argue that both efficiency and legitimacy concerns lead firms to rely on media coverage of their competitors rather than on competitors’ direct public statements, and I test this argument in analyses of stories and press releases about the market for computer workstations, 1980–1990. Findings show that being referenced by rivals follows coverage rather than releases, but coverage itself follows producers’ influence attempts. Thus, the media is behind the market mirror, and its image of demand is refracted by properties of the reporter–source interface. “And certainly the glass WAS beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist.”