Abstract: Interest in “local” products has grown, despite (or perhaps in response to) an increasingly globalized world. At the same time, scholarly attention to local market categories has also increased.  Organizational theorists in particular, including those with interests in social responsibility, have recognized the importance of “local” in the study of markets. Yet, there is little agreement about the meaning of “local”, either theoretically or empirically. Local can be conceptualized according to physical geography, political boundaries, collective identity, method of production, among others. Indeed, products with the same label – e.g., local produce, local wine – often carry different meanings, depending on the location of the market or the market participant. In this talk, I will explore the various organization-theory approaches to studying local market categories, with examples from empirical projects on wineries, urban agriculture, and farmers’ markets.