On new industry creation and legitimation: Crossing the gulf between no industry and an embryonic industry

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of creation and legitimation of new industries. Specifically, the question we address is how to cross the gulf between no industry and embryonic industry in order for a new industry to emerge. In this, our focus is on the process of change from an initial condition in which an industry does not exist to a final condition in which it is institutionalized. We ground our discussion in a typology of legitimation. Both authors bring to the discussion their ethnographic experience in creating and legitimating new industries and new ventures such as software, consulting and NGO, as well as de-legitimating existing industries, such as military and power. The contribution of this paper lies in its combined theoretical and practical focus on a phenomenon that has received scant attention in academic research and has been inefficiently practiced by policy makers and development organizations.