This article focuses on "schooling" in organization theory: the process through which new schools of thought become established as distinct, legitimate theoretical frameworks. We argue that evolving schools of thought must display a combination of novelty, continuity, and scope to achieve school status. We describe these attributes and discuss their role in promoting the detection and assimilation of a school's intellectual products, as well as the creation of a stream of empirical research. We derive eight testable propositions from our theoretical model and discuss implications for future research. CR - Copyright © 1999 Academy of Management