Market uncertainty and mimetic isomorphism in the newspaper industry: a study of Taiwan's mainstream newspapers from 1992 to 2003

Abstract

Mimetic isomorphic theory explains the process through which organizations in the same environment imitate each other's actions to become more similar to each other. Adopting the theory, this study examined the content of Taiwan's three major newspapers from 1992 to 2003 to investigate the relationship between market uncertainty and mimetic isomorphism. The data analysis shows that the uncertainty in Taiwan's newspaper industry created an environment of mimetic isomorphism, and the findings are congruent with the predictions of mimetic isomorphic theory.

Keywords:

• market uncertainty
• mimetic isomorphism
• newspaper industry
• institutional theory

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by the National Science Council, the Executive Yuan, Taiwan.