The production of culture perspective focuses on how the symbolic elements of culture are shaped by the systems within which they are created, distributed, evaluated, taught, and preserved. After tracing the consolidation of the perspective in the late 1970s, the paper introduces six facets of production (technology, law and regulation, industry structure, organization structure, occupational careers, and market) and uses them to theorize within the production perspective a wide range of research. The authors also show the utility of the facet model in coherently theorizing a research study based in a quite different perspective as well as explore the recent application of the production perspective in organizational research. In addition, the paper outlines the recent extension of the production perspective to autoproduction, the study of identity formation, and meaning in informal relations. The authors conclude with a discussion of criticisms of the perspective and suggest opportunities for research.
