Journal article
Institutional work amidst the financial crisis: emerging positions of elite actors
Suhaib Riaz, Sean Buchanan, Hari Bapuji
ORGANIZATION | SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD | Published : 2011
Abstract
We draw on the institutional work literature to analyse the rhetoric in mainstream media spawned by the global financial crisis. We identify the emerging positions (status quo, neutral and change) of actors on major themes (policy, practices, recovery and regulation) related to the crisis and the rhetorical processes used (appeals to expert authority, finding someone to blame, use of scenarios, and avoidance of critical discussion) to communicate these positions. We find that academics lead the charge for change in policy, relying mostly on rhetorical processes that involve the use of past scenarios and blame, but also often avoid critical discussion through over-generalization. In contrast,..
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