Name
Title | ||
|---|---|---|
Technology legitimation in the public discourse: applying the pillars of legitimacy on GM food |
Abstract | ||
|---|---|---|
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. |
Year | DOI | Venue |
|---|---|---|
2020 | 10.1080/09537325.2019.1648788 | TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT |
Keywords | Field | DocType |
Legitimacy,public discourse,GM food,media analysis | Public administration,Economics,Public sphere,Normative,Legitimation,Rhetoric,Newspaper,Legitimacy,Pillar,Marketing,Public debate | Journal |
Volume | Issue | ISSN |
32.0 | 2 | 0953-7325 |
Citations | PageRank | References |
0 | 0.34 | 0 |
Authors | ||
4 | ||
Name | Order | Citations | PageRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sikke R. Jansma | 1 | 1 | 1.03 |
| Jordy F. Gosselt | 2 | 0 | 0.34 |
| Kimberly Kuipers | 3 | 0 | 0.34 |
| Menno D.T. de Jong | 4 | 0 | 0.34 |