Categorical Anarchy in the U.K.? The British Media's Classification of Bitcoin and the Limits of Categorization

Authors

Jean-Philippe Vergne, Ivey Business School
Gautam Swain, Ivey Business School

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Volume

51

Journal

Research in the Sociology of Organizations

First Page

185

URL with Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20170000051005

Last Page

222

Abstract

Bitcoin is difficult to categorize, and indeed has been associated with 112 different labels in the British media (e.g., “private money”, “commodity”)—most of which poorly describe bitcoin. Specifically, our analyses of 674 media articles, focusing on the relationship between labeling and categorization, identify classification inconsistencies at three levels: within clusters of labels, between labels and categories, and between label attributes. These inconsistencies hamper categorization based on attribute similarity, audience goals, and causal models (respectively). We identify four factors that nurture this categorical anarchy and conclude with a call for research on the socioeconomic revolution heralded by blockchain technology.

Notes

This is the authors' version of the book chapter published in Research in the Sociology of Organizations.