Technology legitimation in the public discourse: Applying the pillars of legitimacy on GM food

Autor: Jordy F. Gosselt, Menno D.T. de Jong, Kimberly Kuipers, Sikke R. Jansma
Přispěvatelé: Communication Science
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 32(2), 195-207. Routledge
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 32, 195-207
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 32, 2, pp. 195-207
ISSN: 0953-7325
DOI: 10.1080/09537325.2019.1648788
Popis: Contains fulltext : 215294.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) The public sphere, reflected by the public discourse, is an important domain for the legitimation of technology. In the institutional literature, four pillars of legitimacy are distinguished: normative, cognitive, regulative, and pragmatic. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent these pillars can be used as a framework for analysing the legitimation of technological innovations in the public discourse. We conducted a qualitative media analysis of the case of GM food in the Netherlands, analysing 287 articles from nine Dutch newspapers in the period of 1996–2016. The results show that the pillars provide insight into legitimacy in a multi-dimensional way and serve as a structure for the dynamics of legitimation processes. Regarding GM food, the public debate was pre-dominantly negative, with a strong focus on the normative pillar. Emotional rhetoric exceeded knowledge and understanding (cognitive pillar) of GM food. The regulative and pragmatic pillars were hardly addressed. 13 p.
Databáze: OpenAIRE