“Before Birth: How Provisional Spaces Shape the Localized Emergence of New Organizational Forms”

Abstract

The literature on evolution of
organizational forms remains largely silent on where the first organizational
instance of a new form comes from, treating it either as a given or as an
outcome of random variation. We challenge this agnostic assumption by puttingthe first organizational founding into a specific spatio-temporal context andrevealing the role of provisional spaces, defined as small-scale, easilyaccessible settings where market pioneers temporarily experiment withapplications of an innovation before dedicated organizations emerge. Wetheorize that provisional spaces disseminate necessary information about aninnovation and enable potential entrepreneurs to envision a new template fororganizing. Therefore, geographic communities with a higher number of
provisional spaces are more likely to host the first organization embodying a
new form sooner than others. Using archival data on all movie-showing venues in
Chicago communities, 1896-1927, we find empirical support to our theorizing.
Community variance in volume and types of provisional spaces for movie
projectors, such as opera houses and penny arcades, led to community-level
differences in the emergence of distinct movie theater forms: nickelodeon,
movie house, and movie palace. This study advances scholarship on
organizational form emergence by uncovering the role of provisional spaces in
shaping localized opportunity structures.