How Morally Contested Innovations are Legitimized?

• Main Authors: Ben Slimane, Karim, Diridollou, Cédric, Hamadache, Karim
• Other Authors: Recherches en Économie Gestion AgroRessources Durabilité Santé- EA 6292 (REGARDS), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)-Maison des Sciences Humaines de Champagne-Ardenne (MSH-URCA), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)-Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: innovation; legitimation strategies; morally contested fields; funeral services 2; anthro-se; socio; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.univ-reims.fr/hal-02948026/file/HAL%20EURAM%202018-converted.pdf; https://hal.univ-reims.fr/hal-02948026

International audience This paper investigates how morally contested innovations emerge and spread within an organisational field and how entrepreneurs utilize strategies to legitimize them. Building on the insight derived from a case study of the cardboard coffin's introduction in the French funeral services field our findings show that proponents of morally contested innovations rely on three legitimation strategies: (1) they commit themselves in pragmatic legitimacy through targeting the peripheral players and the public, (2) they cope with cognitive legitimacy challenges by adapting the design of their product and by educating product users, (3) and they respond to moral concerns by reducing moral revulsion and re-enchanting the consumption practices. This study also highlights the importance of the interplay between these mutually reinforcing strategies in the adoption and the diffusion of morally contested innovations.