Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Processing Fads and Fashions: An Organization-
Set Analysis of Cultural Industry Systems1
Paul M. Hirsch
Indiana University
1 This paper was developed in connection with a study of the popular music in-
dustry and its audience conducted at the Survey Research Center, Universityof
Michigan, under the supervisionof Dr. Stephen B. Withey and supported by grant
numbers 1-RO1-MH17064-01 and 1-FO1-MH48847-01 from the National Institute
of Mental Health. I wish to thank Edward 0. Laumann, AlbertJ. Reiss, Jr., Randall
Collins, Theodore L. Reed, David R. Segal, and an anonymous reviewerfor critical
commentson an earlier version of this paper, presented at the sixty-fifth annual
meetingof the American Sociological Association,August 1970.
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AmericanJournalof Sociology
choicesconvergeon a fewdesignsas theydo? Whenthebuyerswereasked
whytheychoseone dressin preferenceto another-betweenwhichmyin-
experiencedeye could see no appreciabledifference-thetypical,honest,
yet largely uninformative answer was that the dress was "stunning."
[Blumer 1969, pp. 278-79]
The preselectionof goods for potentialconsumptionis a featurecom-
mon to all industries.In orderfornew productsor ideas to reach con-
sumers,they must firstbe processedfavorablythrougha systemof
organizationswhose units filterout a large proportionof candidates
before they arrive at the consumptionstage (Barnett 1953). Much
theoryand researchon complexorganizations is concernedwithisolated
aspects of this processby whichinnovationsflowthroughorganization
systems-suchas the relationof researchand development units to the
industrialfirm(Burns and Stalker 1961; Wilensky1968); or problems
encountered by public agenciesattemptingto implementnew policy de-
cisions (Selznick 1949; Bailey and Mosher 1968; Moynihan1969).
Most studiesof the "careers"of innovations, however,treatonly the
invention and the ultimateadoptionstagesas problematic. The "through-
put" sector, comprisedof organizationswhich filterthe overflowof
information and materialsintendedforconsumers, is generallyignored.2
Literatureon the diffusionof innovations,for example,is concerned
solely with the receptionaccorded a new productby consumerssub-
sequent to its release into the marketplaceby sponsoringorganizations
(Rogers 1962). From an organizationalperspective,two questionsper-
tainingto any innovationare logicallyprior to its experiencein the
marketplace:(1) by what criteriawas it selectedfor sponsorshipover
available alternatives?and (2) might certain characteristicsof its
organizationalsponsor,such as prestigeor the size of an advertising
budget,substantially aid in explainingthe ultimatesuccess or failureof
the new productor idea?
In modern,industrialsocieties,the productionand distributionof
both fineart and popular cultureentail relationships amonga complex
networkof organizations whichboth facilitateand regulatethe innova-
tion process.Each object mustbe "discovered,"sponsored,and brought
to publicattentionby entrepreneurial organizations or nonprofitagencies
beforethe originating artistor writercan be linkedsuccessfully to the
intendedaudience. Decisions taken in organizationswhose actions can
block or facilitatecommunication, therefore,may wield great influence
over the access of artistand audienceto one another.The contentof a
nation's popular cultureis especiallysubject to economicconstraints
2 A notable exception is Alfred Chandler's classic study of corporate innovation
(1962). In the areas of fine art and popular culture,this problem has been noted
by Albrecht (1968), Barnett (1959), Baumol and Bowen (1968), and Gans (1966).
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ProcessingFads and Fashions
due to the largerscale of capitalinvestment requiredin thisarea to link
creatorsand consumerseffectively.3
This paper will outlinethe structureand operationof entrepreneurial
organizationsengagedin the productionand mass distribution of three
typesof "cultural"items: books,recordings, and motionpictures.Entre-
preneurialorganizations in culturalindustriesconfront a set of problems
especiallyinteresting
to studentsof interorganizational relations,mainly:
goal dissensus,boundary-spanning role occupantswith nonorganizational
norms,legal and value constraintsagainst vertical integration,and,
hence,dependenceon autonomousagencies (especiallymass-mediagate-
keepers) for linkingthe organizationto its customers.In responseto
environmental uncertainties, mainlya high-riskelementand changing
patternsof distribution, theyhave evolveda richassortment of adaptive
"coping"strategies and, thus,offera promising arena in whichto develop
and apply tentativepropositions derivedfromstudiesof othertypes of
organizations and advancedin the fieldof organization studies.Our focal
organizations(Evan 1963) are the commercialpublishinghouse, the
moviestudio,and the recordcompany.My description of theiroperation
is based on information and impressions gatheredfrom(1) an extensive
samplingof trade papers directedat membersof these industries,pri-
marily:Publishers'Weekly,Billboard,and Variety; (2) 53 open-ended
interviews withindividualsat all levels of the publishing,recording, and
broadcastingindustries4 and (3) a thoroughreview of available
secondarysources.
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ProcessingFads and Fashions
orderedby retail outlets for display or exhibitionto consumersand,
ideally,its authoror performer will appear on televisiontalk shows' and
be writtenup as an interesting news story.Drawving on a functionalist
modelof organizational controland facilitation of innovationsproposed
by Boskoff(1964), we viewthemass mediain theirgatekeeping roleas a
primary"institutional regulatorof innovation."
A numberof conceptsand assumptions implicitin thispaper are taken
fromthe developingfieldof interorganizational relationsand elaborated
on morefullyby Thompson(1967).6 Studiesin this emergingtradition
typicallyview all phenomenafromthe standpointof the organization
underanalysis.It seldominquiresinto the functionsperformed by the
organizationfor the social systembut asks rather,as a temporary
partisan,how the goals of the organizationmay be constrainedby
society.The organizationis assumedto act undernormsof rationality,
and the subjectof analysisbecomesits formsof adaptationto constraints
imposedby its technology and "task environment." The term"organiza-
tion-set"has been proposedby Evan (1963) as analogousto the role-set
conceptdevelopedby Merton (1957) foranalyzingrole relationships:
Insteadoftaking
a particular
statusas theunitofanalysis,
as Mertondoes
in hie role-setanalysis,I take . . . an organization,
or a class of organiza-
tions,and traceits interactions
withthenetwork of organizationsin its
environment,i.e.,withelementsof its organization-set.
As a partialsocial
system,a focalorganization dependson inputorganizations forvarious
typesofresources: personnel,
materiel,capital,
legality,
andlegitimacy....
Thefocalorganization inturnproduces a productora servicefora market,
an audience,
a clientsystem,
etc.[Evan 1963,pp. 177-79]
Afterexamining transactions
betweenthe focalorganizationand elements
of its task environment,7
we will describethreeadaptivestrategiesdevel-
oped by culturalorganizationsto minimizeuncertainty. Finally,varia-
tions withineach industrywill be reviewed.
An excellent,first-person
account of this experienceis provided by Cowan (1970).
6 For a more far-rangingconsiderationof the genesis and life cycle of fads and
fashionsfromthe standpointof classic sociological theories,see Meyersohnand Katz
(1957), Blumer (1968), and Denzin (1970).
7 A focal organization'stask environmentconsists of other organizationslocated on
its input and output boundaries.
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creatorsand producerorganizations withreceptiveconsumersand mass-
media gatekeepers.New materialis sought constantlybecause of the
rapid turnoverof books,films,and recordings.
Cultural organizationsconstitutethe managerialsubsystemsof the
industrysystemsin which they must operate.From a universeof in-
novationsproposedby "artists"in the "creative" (technical) subsystem,
theyselect ("discover") a sampleof culturalproductsfororganizational
sponsorshipand promotion.A distinctivefeatureof cultural industry
systemsat the presenttime is the organizationalsegregationof func-
tionalunitsand subsystems. In the productionsector,the technicaland
manageriallevelsof organization are linkedby boundary-spanning talent
scouts-for example,acquisitionseditors,record"producers,"and film
directors-locatedon the inputboundaryof the focal organization.
To this point,culturalindustriesresemblethe construction industry
and other organizationsystems characterizedby what Stinchcombe
(1959) calls "craftadministration of production."The locationof pro-
fessionalsin the technicalsubsystem,and administrators in the mana-
gerialone, indicatesthatproductionmay be organizedalong craftrather
than bureaucraticlines (Stinchcombe1959). In the culturalindustry
system,lower-levelpersonnel(artists and talent scouts) are accorded
professionalstatusand seldomare associatedwithany one focal organi-
zation forlong timeperiods.Althoughcompanyexecutivesmay tamper
with the final product of their collaborations,contractedartists and
talent scouts are delegatedthe responsibility of producingmarketable
creations,withlittleor no interference fromthe frontofficebeyondthe
settingof budgetarylimits (Petersonand Berger 1971). Due to wide-
spread uncertainty over the preciseingredientsof a best-sellerformula,
administrators are forcedto trust the professionaljudgmentof their
employees.Close supervisionin the productionsector is impeded by
ignoranceof relationsbetweencause and effect.8 A highlyplaced spokes-
man for the recordingindustry(Brief 1964, pp. 4-5) has stated the
problemas follows:
We havemaderecords thatappearedto haveall thenecessary ingredients
-artist,song,arrangements, promotion, etc.-to guaranteetheywindup
as bestsellers.... Yet theyfellflaton theirfaces.On theotherhandwe
haveproducedrecordsforwhichonlya modestsuccesswas anticipated
thatbecamerunaway bestsellers.. . . Thereare a largenumber of com-
paniesin ourindustry employing a largenumberof talentedperformers
andcreative producers whocombine theirtalents, andtheir
theiringenuity
toproduce
creativity a recordthateachis surewillcaptivate theAmerican
8 "Production"hererefersto theperformances or manuscriptscreatedby artistsand
talentscoutsfor later replicationin the formof books,film-negative prints,and
phonograph records.The physicalmanufacture of thesegoodsis sufficiently
amen-
to our discussion.
able to controlas to be nearlyirrelevant
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public. The fact that only a small proportionof the outputachieves hit
statusis not onlytrueof our industry.... There are no formulasforpro-
ducinga hit record. . . just as thereare no pat answersforproducinghit
plays,or sell-outmoviesor best-sellingbooks.
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15Boskoff (1964, p. 224) sees the sources of innovations within any social system
as the "technical and/or managerial levels of organization,or externalsources....
By its very nature, the institutionallevel is uncongenial to innovative roles for it-
self." Changes occur at an increasingrate when "the institutionallevel is ineffective
in controllingthe cumulationof variations.. . . This may be called change by insti-
tutional default." Changes in pop-culturecontent consistentlyfollow this pattern.
16Two interestingformalmodels of aspects of this process are presentedby McPhee
(1963).
17 For a more detailed discussion of the role-set engaged in the processingof fads
and fashions,with particularapplication to "hit" records,see Hirsch (1969).
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ORGANIZATIONALRESPONSE TO TASK-ENVIRONMENTUNCERTAINTIES
of ContactMen
Proliferation
Entrepreneurial organizationsin cultural industriesrequire competent
intelligenceagentsand representativesto activelymonitordevelopments
at theirinputand outputboundaries.Inabilityto locate and successfully
marketnew culturalitems leads to organizationalfailure: new manu-
scriptsmustbe located,new singersrecorded,and new moviesproduced.
Boundary-spanning units have thereforebeen established,and a large
proportionof personnelallocated to serve as "contactmen" (Wilensky
1956), withtitlessuch as talentscout,promoter, press coordinator,and
vice-presidentin chargeof publicrelations.The centralityof information
on boundarydevelopments to managersand executivesin culturalorga-
nizationsis suggestedin theseindustries'tradepapers: coverageof artist
relationsand selectionsby mass-mediagatekeepersfar exceeds that of
mattersmanagedmoreeasilyin a standardizedmanner,such as inflation
in warehousing, shipping,and physicalproductioncosts.
Contactmen linkingthe culturalorganizationto the artistcommunity
contractforcreativerawmaterialon behalfof theorganization and super-
vise its production.Much of theirwork is performed in the field.In
publishing,forexample:
"You haveto getoutto lunchto findoutwhat'sgoingon outthere-and
what'sgoingon out thereis wherean editor'sbookscomefrom,"says
JamesSilberman,editor-in-chief of RandomHouse. "Over the years,I've
watchedpeople in the book business stop having lunch,and they stop
gettingbooks."
Thereare,in general,threekindsof publishinglunches.The first,and most
common,takesplace betweeneditorand agent: its purposeis to generate
book ideas for the agent'sclients;also, it providesan opportunity
forthe
agentto growto like theeditorenoughto sendhimcompletedmanuscripts.
The secondkindis set up by publicistswithwhomevertheywantto push
theirbooks: televisionpeople, critics,book-revieweditors.. . .
The thirdkind takes place betweenauthorsand editors,and it falls into
threephases: theprecontract phase,wheretheeditorwoos the authorwith
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good foodand book ideas; thepostcontractphase,wheretheauthoris given
assistanceon his manuscript
and theimpetusto go on; and thepostpublica-
tion phase, where the editor explainsto the authorwhy the publishing
house tookso fewadvertisements forhis book. [Ephron1969,p. 8]
Professionalagents on the input boundarymust be allowed a great
deal of discretion
in theiractivitieson behalfof the culturalorganization.
Successfuleditors,record"producers,"and filmdirectorsand producers
thus pose controlproblemsfor the focal organization.In fieldscharac-
terizedby uncertainty over cause/effect relations,theirtalenthas been
"validated" by the successfulmarketplaceperformance of "their dis-
coveries"-providinghigh visibilityand opportunities for mobilityout-
side a singlefirm.Their value to the culturalorganizationas recruiters
and intelligenceagents is indicatedby high salaries,commissions, and
prestigewithinthe industrysystem.
Culturalorganizationsdeploy additionalcontactmen at theiroutput
boundaries,linkingthe organizationto (1) retail outletsand (2) sur-
rogateconsumersin mass-mediaorganizations.The tasks of promoting
and distributing new culturalitems are analyticallydistinct,although
boundaryunits combiningboth functionsmay be established.Trans-
actionsbetweenretailersand boundarypersonnelat the wholesalelevel
are easily programmed and supervised.In termsof Thompson's(1962)
typologyof output transactions,the retailer's"degree of nonmember
discretion"is limitedto a smallnumberof fixedoptionsconcerning such
mattersas discountschedulesand returnprivileges.'8In contrast,where
organizationsare dependenton ''surrogateconsumers"for coverageof
new products,the latterenjoy a high degreeof discretion:tacticsem-
ployedby contactmenat thisboundaryentailmore"personalinfluence";
close supervisionby the organization is moredifficultand may be politi-
cally inexpedient.Furtherdevelopmentof Thompson'stypologywould
facilitatetracingthe flowof innovationsthroughorganizationsystems
by extendingthe analysisof transactions "at the end of the line"-that
is, betweensalesmenand consumersor bureaucratsand clients-to en-
compassboundarytransactions at all levelsof organizationthroughwhich
new productsare processed.
A highratioof promotional personnelto surrogateconsumersappears
to be a structuralfeatureof any industrysystemin which: (a) goodsare
marginallydifferentiated; (b) producers'access to consumermarketsis
18 Sponsoring organizations without access to established channels of distribution,
however,experiencegreat difficulty in obtaining orders for their products from re-
tail outlets and consumers. Thompson's (1962) typology of interaction between
organizationmembersand nonmembersconsistsof two dimensions: Degree of non-
memberdiscretion,and specificityof organizationalcontrol over membersin output
roles. Output roles are defined as those which arrange for the distributionof an
organization'sultimateproduct (or service) to other agents in society.
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regulatedby independentgatekeepers;and (c) large-scale,directadver-
tisingcampaignsare uneconomical or prohibitedby law. Culturalproducts
are advertisedindirectlyto independentgatekeeperswithinthe industry
systemin orderto reducedemanduncertainty over whichproductswill
be selectedfor exposureto consumers.Where independentgatekeepers
neitherfilterinformation nor mediatebetweenproducerand consumer,
the importanceof contactmen at the organization'soutputboundaryis
correspondinglydiminished.In industrysystemswhereproductsare ad-
vertisedmoredirectlyto consumers,the contactman is supersededby
full-pageadvertisementsand sponsoredcommercials, purchasedoutright
by the producerorganization and directedat the lay consumer.
Overproduction
and Differential
Promotionof CulturalItems
Differential promotionof new items,in conjunctionwithoverproduction,
is a secondproactivestrategyemployedby culturalorganizations to over-
comedependenceon mass-mediagatekeepers. Overproduction is a rational
organizational responsein an environment of low capital investments and
demanduncertainty. "Fortunately,froma culturalpoint of view if not
fromthe publisher's,the marketis full of uncertainties. . . . A wise
publisherwill hedgehis bets" (Bailey 1970, pp. 144, 170).
Undertheseconditionsit apparentlyis moreefficient to producemany
"failures"foreach successthan to sponsorfeweritemsand pretesteach
on a massivescale to increasemedia coverageand consumersales. The
numberof books, records,and low-budgetfilmsreleased annually far
exceedscoveragecapacityand consumerdemandfortheseproducts.'9The
publisher's"books cannibalizeone another.And even if he hasn't de-
liberatelyloweredhis editorialstandards(and he almostcertainlyhas) he
is stillpublishingmorebooks thanhe can possiblydo justiceto" (Knopf
1964,p. 18). Whileover 15,000new titlesare issued annually,the prob-
abilityof any one appearingin a given bookstoreis only 10% (Lacy
1963). Similarly,fewerthan20% of over6,000 (45 rpm) "singles"appear
in retailrecordoutlets (Shemel and Krasilovsky1964). Movie theaters
exhibita largerproportionof approximately 400 featurefilmsreleased
annually,fewerthan half of which,however,are believedto recoupthe
initialinvestment. The productionof a surplusis facilitatedfurther by
contractsnegotiatedwithartistson a royaltybasis and othercost-minimiz-
ing featuresof the craftadministrationof production.
Cultural organizationsideally maximizeprofitsby mobilizingpro-
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Publishers'advertising
has severalsubsidiaryfunctionsto performbesides
thatof sellingbooks,or even makingreaders.Amongthemare:
1. Influencingthe "trade"-that is impressingbook jobbers and retail
booksellerswiththefactthatthepublisheris activelybackinga certain
titleand thatit would be good businessforthemto stockand push it.
2. Influencing authorsand theiragents.Many an authorhas leftone pub-
lisherforanotherbecause he feltthatthefirstpublisherwas not giving
his book enoughadvertising support.
3. Influencing reviewers.The implicationhere is not that any reputable
reviewercan be "bought"by theuse of his paper'sadvertising columns,
but reviewersare apt to watchpublishers'announcements (particularly
those thatappear in the tradepapers) for information whichwill aid
themin selectingbooks forreview,and in decidingwhichones to fea-
tureor to reviewat length.
4. Influencing the sale of book club, reprint,and othersubsidiaryrights.
Publisherssometimesadvertisesolelyto keep a book on the best-seller
list whilea projectedmoviesale is in prospect.Occasionallythisworks
the otherway round: movieproducershave been knownto contribute
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generously to thead budgetof theinitialhardcovereditionso as to reap
the benefitof the best-sellerpublicityfor theirfilmwhen it finally
appears. [Spier 1967,pp. 155-56]
Cooptationof "InstitutionalRegulators"
Mass-mediagatekeepersreporta wide varietyof mechanismsdeveloped
by cultural organizationsto influenceand manipulatetheir coverage
decisions.These rangefrom"indications"by the sponsoring organization
of high expectationsfor particularnew "discoveries" (e.g., full-page
advertisements in the tradepress,partiesarrangedto introducethe artist
to recognizedopinionleaders) to personalrequestsand continuousbar-
ragesof indirectadvertising, encouraging and cajolingthe gatekeeperto
"cover,"endorse,and otherwisecontributetowardthe fulfillment of the
organization'sprophesyof greatsuccessforits new product.
The goals of culturaland mass-mediaorganizations come into conflict
over two issues.First,public opinion,professionalethics,and, to a lesser
extent,job security,all requirethat institutional gatekeepersmaintain
independent standardsof judgmentand qualityratherthan endorseonly
those items whichculturalorganizationselect to promote.Second, the
primarygoal of commercialmass-mediaorganizationsis to maximize
revenueby "delivering"audiencesforsponsoredmessagesratherthan to
serveas promotional vehiclesforparticularculturalitems.Hit records,for
example,are featuredby commercialradio stationsprimarilyto sell
advertising:
Q. Do you play thismusicbecause it is the mostpopular?
A. Exactly for that reason. . . . We use the entertainment part of our
programming, whichis music,essentially,to attractthelargestpossible
audience,so thatwhatelse we have to say . . . in termsof advertising
message. . . [is] exposedto the largestnumberof people possible-
and theway to get thelargestnumberto tunein is to play the kindof
musictheylike . .. so thatyou have a mass audienceat theotherend.
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Q. If, let's say thatby some freakof nature,a year fromnow the most
popularmusicwas chambermusic,wouldyou be playingthat?
A. Absolutely. . ., and the year afterthat,if it's Chinesemadrigals,we'll
be playingthem.[Strauss1966,p. 3]21
Goal conflictand value dissensusare reflectedin frequentdisputesamong
culturalorganizations,mass-mediagatekeepers, and publicrepresentatives
concerning the legitimacy(or legality)of promoters' attemptsto acquire
powerover the decisionautonomyof surrogateconsumers.
Culturalorganizations striveto controlgatekeepers'decisionautonomy
to the extentthatcoveragefornew itemsis (a) crucialforbuildingcon-
sumerdemand,and (b) problematic.Promotionalcampaignsaimed at
cooptinginstitutionalgatekeepersare most likelyto requireproportion-
ately large budgetsand illegitimatetactics when consumers'awareness
of the producthingesalmostexclusivelyon coverageby thesepersonnel.
As notedearlier,culturalorganizations are less likelyto deployboundary
agents or sanctionhigh-pressure tactics for items whose sale is less
contingent on gatekeepers'actions.
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decisionsthan promotersof pop recordsemployto coopt the decision
autonomyof institutional regulators.
Thompson(1967, p. 36) has proposedthat "when supportcapacity
is concentrated but demanddispersed,the weakerorganizationwill at-
temptto handleits dependencethroughcoopting."In our analysis,cul-
tural organizationsrepresenta class of weakerorganizations,dependent
on supportcapacityconcentrated in mass-mediaorganizations;demand
is dispersedamongretailoutletsand consumers. While all culturalorga-
nizationsattemptto cooptautonomousconsumersurrogates, the intensity
of the tacticsemployedtendsto vary withdegreeof dependence.Thus,
culturalorganizationsmost dependenton mass-mediagatekeepers(i.e.,
companiesproducingpop records)resortedto the mostcostlyand illegiti-
mate tactics; the institution
of payola may be seen as an indicationof
theirweakerpowerposition.
CONCLUSION
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