The Institute concluded it needed an official American institutional identity

Evidence

Admittedly, it’s questionable whether we should simply work here as isolated private scholars or found some sort of Society for Social Research. G. [Gumperz] assures me that everyone here advises the latter, and it does really seem that an official trademark will be unavoidable. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 578

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows the institutional rationale for creating a formal ‘Society for Social Research’ in exile — pragmatic identity signaling.
• XREF: The necessity of an official trademark for a research institute abroad echoes the trust- and reputation-signaling logic seen in the diamond bourse reading (name as credibility signal). — connects to: The exiled Institute cultivated American scholarly ties to legitimize itself — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 3317