Responses to Sudden Changes in Status- OVPR Curate Program

This project investigates the dynamics of status systems by specifically looking at how the sudden rise of an actor (e.g., an employee) in status may trigger different reactions from other actors. The empirical context for this investigation is the Linsanity case where Jeremy Lin, an undrafted NBA basketball player out of Harvard University not known for basketball, gained unprecedented popularity against all odds across the globe over a short period of time. The rise of Jeremy Lin in popularity and social status constituted a shock to the established status system in the NBA, thereby inviting strong reactions from other NBA players on and off the court. The main finding so far is that with Jeremy Lin rising in status, low- and high-status players reacted to Jeremy Lin in distinct fashions on the court . Low-status players' physicality toward Jeremy Lin first increased but later decreases as Jeremy Lin's status increased over time. In case, high-status players' physicality towards Jeremy Lin showed a completely opposite pattern.