In markets where producers drive the creative process, high-status producers can opt for more radical changes for their artists’ image, whereas middle-status producers are likely to shift their artists’ image to follow popular categories. The new research, published in Strategic Management Journal, uses Korean pop music — or K-pop — to demonstrate how the status of entertainment agencies affects how idol groups shift categories, an effect that is also limited by the artists’ gender.

The research — from Heeyon Kim of Cornell University, Yoonjeoung Heo of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, and Chi-Nien Chung of Hong Kong Polytechnic University — expanded on prior studies that explored the limitations of category shifting for artists. Instead, the team considered how, when social actors shift categories over time, they develop multifaceted identities, which can offer substantial advantages to the artist.