Categories are organized vertically, with product categories nested under larger umbrella categories. Meaning flows from umbrella categories to the categories beneath them, such that the construction of a new umbrella category can significantly reshape the categorical landscape. This paper explores the construction of a new umbrella category and the nesting beneath it of a product category. Specifically, we study the construction of the Quebec terroir products umbrella category and the nesting of the Quebec artisanal cheese product category under this umbrella. Our analysis shows that the construction of umbrella categories can unfold entirely separately from that of product categories and can follow a distinct categorization process. Whereas the construction of product categories may be led by entrepreneurs who make salient distinctive product attributes, the construction of umbrella categories may be led by “macro actors” removed from the market. We found that these macro actors followed a goal-derived categorization process: they first defined abstract goals and ideals for the umbrella category and only subsequently sought to populate it with product categories. Among the macro actors involved, the state played a central role in defining the meaning of the Quebec terroir category and mobilizing other macro actors into the collective project, a finding that suggests an expanded role of the state in category construction. We also found that market intermediaries are important in the nesting of product categories beneath new umbrella categories, notably by projecting identities onto producers consistent with the goals of the umbrella category. We draw on these findings to develop a process model of umbrella category construction and product category nesting.

类别是垂直组织的，产品类别嵌套在较大的总类别下。意义从伞形类别流向其下的类别，因此新伞形类别的构建可以显着重塑类别景观。本文探讨了新的伞形类别的构建以及产品类别在其下的嵌套。具体来说，我们研究了魁北克风土产品类别的构建以及魁北克手工奶酪产品类别在该类别下的嵌套。我们的分析表明，伞形类别的构建可以与产品类别的构建完全分开，并且可以遵循不同的分类过程。品类的构建可能由突出产品属性的企业家主导，而伞形品类的构建则可能由退出市场的“宏观参与者”主导。我们发现这些宏观参与者遵循一个目标衍生的分类过程：他们首先为伞形类别定义抽象目标和理想，然后才试图用产品类别填充它。在所涉及的宏观参与者中，国家在定义魁北克风土类别的含义和动员其他宏观参与者参与集体项目方面发挥了核心作用，这一发现表明国家在类别构建中的作用有所扩大。我们还发现，市场中介在将产品类别嵌套在新的保护伞类别下时很重要，尤其是通过将身份投射到与总类别目标一致的生产者身上。我们利用这些发现来开发伞形类别构建和产品类别嵌套的过程模型。