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 praised Kronsteiner's idea that Croatian identity wasn't based solely on ethnicity but rather a social construct. He argued that the term "Croatian" wouldn't be an ethnic label but a designation for elite warriors from various backgrounds who ruled over conquered Slavic populations in the Avar Khaganate's territory, eventually becoming a widely used ethnonym imposed upon the Slavic groups.