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The Transformational Potential of Public Policy Discourse

Judy Motion University of New South Wales, Australia, j.motion{at}unsw.edu.au

Shirley Leitch

Shirley Leitch University of Wollongong, Australia, sleitch{at}uow.edu.au

In this paper we examine the relationship between public policy, legitimacy and organizational identity in the context of a societal controversy. Public policy is theorized as a mode for effecting discourse transformations which offer new possibilities and rules for organizational legitimacy and societal relations. Our study highlights the legitimating function of public policy formation processes and possible legitimacy-appreciating and-depreciating identity attributes for organizations at the centre of controversy. We develop a macro-level understanding of discursive legitimacy and organizational identity, examining the broader societal context and associated democratic implications of power/knowledge and truth claims.

Key Words: legitimacy • identity • public policy • discourse • power • transformation

This version was published on October 1, 2009

Organization Studies, Vol. 30, No. 10, 1045-1061 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0170840609337940


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