Abstract
The purpose of this research is to provide a framework for studying the key stakeholders who play a role in the process legitimation of an innovation. Specifically, we combine Foucault’s discourse on power, Latour’s Actor Network Theory and Goffman’s frame analysis to present a theoretical framework for the process of innovation legitimation (PIL). To demonstrate its usefulness, we apply the PIL framework to the context of nanotechnology. We ultimately determine that there are four key stakeholders trying to frame nanotechnology: 1) Advancement (i.e., government), 2) Management (i.e., industry), 3) Development (i.e., academia), and 4) Reflection (i.e., NGOs). The trajectory of market formation and legitimation for nanotechnology will depend largely on the cultural discourses that are disseminated by these four actors and the way other peripheral actors interpret the dominant frames. By conceptualizing the current frames for an innovation in the process of legitimizing, the future of each key discourse can be envisioned.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Editor, Manjit Yadav and the three anonymous reviewers for their detailed input and guidance in the review process. Input from Markus Giesler and Molly Rapert during the early stages of the development of this paper is also greatly appreciated.
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Purpose: to provide a theoretical framework for studying the process of innovation legitimation.
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Thyroff, A., Siemens, J.C. & Murray, J.B. Constructing a theoretical framework for the process of innovation legitimation. AMS Rev 8, 180–194 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-017-0109-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-017-0109-4