Follow the leader or not: Firms’ renaming strategy in nascent and growth stages of a global digital field

Drawing on literature about isomorphism within institutional fields, this study investigates the dynamics of institutional fields in their nascent and growth stages, focusing on legitimacy differences between central and non-central field positions. Specifically, in the context of a global digital field, we analyze how the cross-border legitimacy gap between a leader country (central position) and a follower country (non-central position) influences the digital renaming strategies of firms in the follower country, as well as audience reactions. In the nascent stage, where field uncertainty is high, this legitimacy difference intensifies uncertainty in the follower country, discouraging firms from adopting digital names. In contrast, during the growth stage, as uncertainty about the future of the digital field lessens, the legitimacy difference offers an opportunity for arbitrage, motivating firms to embrace digital renaming. This renaming strategy attracts greater investment from institutional investors in the growth stage compared to the nascent stage. Our empirical analysis, based on the digital renaming of publicly listed Chinese firms from 2012 to 2018, supports these findings. This study advances the field isomorphism literature by highlighting the impact of legitimacy differences between field positions and the distinctive features of the growth stage.