快速消費品產業具有產品生命週期短、替代品多與競爭節奏快速等特性，企業若僅依賴既有產品，往往難以長期維持成長。因此，透過跨入新品類尋求新的成長機會，成為企業回應市場變化的重要方式。然而，既有類別跨越研究多聚焦於跨越後的外部評價與績效後果，近年雖已開始關注市場條件對類別跨越傾向的影響，但對於企業在跨越發生之前，如何依據既有資源與正當性考量形成決策判斷，仍缺乏充分探討。因此，本研究以臺灣一家傳統飲料企業為個案，探討其管理層在類別跨越時的決策準則。
　　本研究透過產品介紹文本分析以及訪談管理層來探討個案。首先蒐集個案公司31筆產品介紹文本，運用結構主題模型進行分析，並透過 searchK() 比較不同主題數設定後，最終選定8個主題作為分析基礎。其後，將8個主題整合為4個第二階主題，再進一步歸納為「傳統風味延續」與「創新風味拓展」兩個聚合構面。完成文本分析後，依此結果訪談企業管理層，以理解不同產品類別分布背後的管理判斷與決策考量。
　　研究結果顯示，個案公司之產品類別大致可區分為三組：傳統組、傳統加創新組與創新組。管理層在進行類別跨越決策時，並非單純依據市場熱度或產品新奇性決定是否投入，而是會同時考量四項核心判斷準則，即成分品質與食品安全、經典風味與製程、飲用情境，以及健康機能與品質認證。此外，本研究亦發現，產品介紹文本不只是行銷文案，更是企業在類別跨越過程中建構新類別正當性的重要媒介。整體而言，本研究補充了既有類別跨越研究較偏重外部市場條件與跨越後果的不足，將分析焦點進一步推向企業跨越前的內部決策機制。

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry is characterized by short product life cycles, abundant substitutes, and intense competition. Under such conditions, firms often find it difficult to sustain growth by relying solely on existing products, making category spanning an important strategic response to market change. Existing research on category spanning has focused primarily on post-spanning outcomes, such as external evaluations and performance consequences, while paying less attention to how managers form their judgments before spanning occurs. This study addresses that gap by examining a Taiwanese beverage firm with repeated category-spanning experience. Using Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to analyze 31 product-description texts and follow-up interviews with managers, the study shows that category-spanning decisions are shaped not simply by novelty or market popularity, but by managerial evaluations of long-term controllability, continuity with the brand’s existing identity, the ability to create new consumption contexts, and the legitimacy of entering new markets. The findings also indicate that product narratives are not merely marketing copy; they function as an important mechanism through which firms make new categories understandable and acceptable to consumers.

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