This study examines how occupational mandates-the socially conferred right to perform a given set of tasks-are negotiated by nascent occupations. Because researchers typically examine occupational formation long after it has begun, they neglect activities that occur prior to the acquisition of key institutional supports. The commodification of work is one such activity. Work becomes a commodity when audiences deem a formerly unpaid activity worthy of remuneration. This study draws on ethnographic data to examine the strategic patterns of situated activity and interaction used by one fledgling occupation, emergency medical services, to convince key audiences that their work is indeed worthy of compensation. Strategies used to construct and communicate in situ impressions of expertise, consistency, fungibility, and contractual relations are examined. The results of the study shed light on the interactional foundation of institutionalization.
