The Process of Schema Emergence: Assimilation, Deconstruction, Unitization and the Plurality of Analogies
通过分析人寿保险行业群体在1945-1975年间如何形成计算机图式，识别出同化、解构和单元化三个关键过程，解释了如何让陌生事物变得熟悉但概念上保持区分，并发现类比转移的多元动态性。
Schemas are a central concept in strategy and organization theory. Yet, despite the importance of schemas, little is known about how they emerge. Our in-depth historical analysis of how groups in the life insurance industry developed their schema for the computer from 1945–1975 addresses this gap. We identify three key processes—assimilation, deconstruction, and unitization—that collectively explain and resolve an inherent tension related to schema emergence: how to make the unfamiliar familiar but conceptually distinct. We also find that each process relates to analogical transfer, but in a more pluralistic and dynamic way than the existing literature describes. Broadly, these findings have important implications for organizational change and managerial cognition.