Pohl noted that the Kronsteiner's merit was that, instead of the previously usual "ethnic" ethnogenesis, he proposed a "social" one. As such, Croatian name would not be an ethnonym, but a social designation for a group of elite warriors of diverse origin which ruled over the conquered Slavic population on the Avar Khaganate's boundary, the designation eventually becoming an ethnonym imposed to the Slavic groups. The assertion about the boundary is only partly true because although the Croats were mentioned on the line of Khaganate they were mostly outside and not inside the boundaries.
Pohl highlighted that the Kronsteiner's strength lay in proposing a "social" ethnogenesis instead of the traditional "ethnic" one.  He argued that the Croatian name wouldn't be an ethnonym but rather a social designation for a group of elite warriors from diverse backgrounds who ruled over the conquered Slavic population on the Avar Khaganate's border, eventually becoming an imposed ethnonym for the Slavic groups.