Most research from institutional perspective focused on how organizations conform or converge to institutional pressures, yet it has been less noticed that there could be significant variance among firm actions. This study explores how organizational status, as a multidimensional construct, influences firm response to government regulations. Using the context of Chinese governance reform during 2001-2003 as our empirical setting, we found the relationship between organizational status and firm responsiveness is more complex than previous status literature suggests. High market based status increase firm responsiveness, yet high identity based status decrease the likelihood of timely response.