Who’s Behind the Red Suit? Exploring Role Prototypicality within Calling Enactment among Professional Santas

This study examines how role prototypicality shapes calling enactment. Taking an interpretivist grounded theory approach, we harness the professional Santa Claus context to investigate our research question. Drawing upon interviews, observation, archival documents, and survey data, we find that professional Santas provide different narratives—socially constructed stories that made points about themselves—according to their level of role prototypicality (prototypical, semi-prototypical, non-prototypical) to describe the intrapersonal processes through which they enact their calling. Whereas prototypical Santas internalize the Santa role prototype, semi-prototypical Santas reconcile felt deviation from it, and non-prototypical Santas reinterpret prototypical characteristics. Prototypical Santas generally express high identification with the professional Santa role, making way for continuous calling enactment. Semi-prototypical Santas tend to demonstrate low role identification, resulting in episodic calling enactment. Non-prototypical Santas uniformly express high role identification and continuous calling enactment. Role salience influences prototypical and semi-prototypical Santas’ level of identification with the professional Santa role, and thereby their pursuit of continuous or episodic calling enactment. These insights theoretically extend the callings literature by advancing conversations on role prototypicality, temporality, and role identification within called work.