Abstract
We examine the emergence of entrepreneurial roles within an oppositional collective. Craft brewers share a collective identity centering on a strong opposition toward powerful, multinational breweries (Mathias, Huyghe, Frid, and Galloway, 2017). Members of such collectives can strengthen their market positions by leveraging the power of the group to negotiate with suppliers or share resources (Sonenshein, Nault, and Obodaru, 2017). As members increasingly engage in collective behaviors, they form cooperative-based role identities (Stryker and Burke, 2000). Although role identities are highly resilient (Albert and Whetten, 1985), the ability to adapt to new roles while fulfilling prior roles may significantly strengthen the group, especially when members of a collective mobilize to counteract powerful market forces. We build on prior work incorporating institutional dynamics to examine role changes (Cherim, Williams, and Hinings, 2007) by bridging research on role identity and collective action. We reveal specific roles that emerge, and how entrepreneurs adopt them as they work to strengthen their collective. We contribute to research examining the interrelationship between individual role and collective identities (Mathias and Williams, 2017; Powell and Baker, 2017).