The historical and cultural construction of legitimated interests: the rise of American chambers of commerce

摘要

The organizational institutionalism perspective has largely treated interests in polarized ways where interests are either determined by or separate from the organizational field. This paper introduces the construct of legitimated interests to better situate interests within history and culture. I provide a descriptive account of the organizational field of American chambers of commerce, illustrating that the recognized interests of organizations change over time to reflect what the public views to be legitimate. As an institution that emerged to unify the interests of business owners, I demonstrate how contemporary chambers of commerce represent an organizational field where market competition is set aside for collaboration. The construct of legitimated interests extends the organizational institutionalism literature by theorizing interests as plural and malleable recognitions instead of possessions. As a result, the construct of legitimated interests is well positioned to explain the historical evolution of the boundaries, composition, and situated meaning of organizational fields.