• Illia Manzan Laura Géraldine

• Giorgi Nicole

Please note that this is a block course that only takes place during certain weeks of the semester. Please consult the exact dates.

This course equips students with the necessary conceptual tools to contemplate how a company can effectively prepare and adapt to this evolving digital (and increasingly AI-driven) communication landscape.

The seminar will address the following four topics:

1.  Legitimacy formation in the mass media era: This theme delves into the definition of organizational legitimacy in a multi-level context in which macro-actors (e.g. news media) validate judgement at collective space and micro-actors (e.g. citizens) express their judgement and (dis)agree at the meso-level (e.g. while they interact). Also, it aims to differentiate legitimacy with other social evaluations (stigma, reputation, status, celebrity, among others). How does organizational legitimacy form in a multilevel context? How does content and communications intervene in this process?

2.  The era of Discursive Spaces: This theme delves into the ways digitalization is facilitating the emergence of new organizational structures, such as the use of hashtags for boycott, movement creation or disinformation spread. It also examines the impact of these developments on the spread of misinformation within the business context.

How new forms of discursive space allow organizing in social media? Does the discursive space influence media sphere and legitimacy formation?

3.  The Era of New Media Idiocy: this theme explores how discursive space in social media is characterized the distinction between information-driven and infotainment-driven content and its implications for shaping perceptions of organizations.

Does the rise of infotainment-driven content on social media hinder or enhance the public's ability to make informed evaluations of organizations?

4.  The era of Artificial intelligence (AI): This theme delves into the ethical considerations surrounding AI and its implications. It explores how AI may limit (or boost) online movements, how trust over AI is empirically studied and how AI language models pose new challenges for stakeholder management and agenda setting.

Do AI empower individuals and businesses to navigate the digital landscape more effectively, or do they pose a threat to genuine human interaction and engagement? Do audiences trust AI?

Prerequisite: Proficiency in reading and comprehending English texts.

The specific objectives of the seminar include:

• Developing the ability to read academic articles critically: Students will learn how to analyze and evaluate scholarly articles critically, considering their validity, relevance, and implications.
• Applying theories and concepts to current events: Students will understand how to apply theoretical frameworks and concepts to real-world events and situations, enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of the practical implications of academic theories.
• Utilizing theories and concepts for scientific study: Students will learn how to use existing theories and concepts as a basis for conducting scientific research, enabling them to contribute to the field of study through their empirical investigations.
• Generating ideas using concepts and theories from articles: Students will learn how to create innovative ideas by leveraging the concepts and theories presented in academic articles, fostering creative and analytical thinking.
• Developing a research proposal: Students will gain the skills necessary to formulate and structure a research proposal, including defining research questions, selecting appropriate methodologies, and outlining the significance and expected contributions of their proposed study.

By achieving these objectives, students will be equipped with the necessary skills to engage with academic literature critically, apply theoretical frameworks to real-world contexts, and contribute to the body of knowledge through their research endeavors.  To reach this aim, the seminar will be organized into three main blocks:

• Block 1: Introduction, key concepts, and LAB (in presence):  Students will be introduced to the main topics of the seminar and provided the key concepts for approaching the seminar. Also, they will be provided examples of datasets available for their seminar work proposal (or paper) and examples of past proposals and papers with a clear overview of their chosen methods.
• Block 2: Presentation of readings (in presence):  Students will present scientific readings in groups (or individually, depending on the size of the class) as either/or (or both) a presenter and discussant. Readings presented here will be the base upon which they will base their seminar paper proposal.
• Block 3: Coaching sessions (online sessions): students will be coached on their seminar proposal work along with six coaching sessions that alternate between working on theory (on Tuesdays) and method (on Wednesdays) every week. Sessions will be carried out online so to ensure the efficiency of coaching (and transition between one student and the other). The final output of these coaching sessions is the presentation (in presence) of their final seminar paper proposal.

- Bennett, W. L. , & Segerberg, A. (2011). Digital media and the personalization of collective action: Social technology and the organization of protests against the global economic crisis. Information, Communication and Society, 14(6), 770-799.
- Bennett, W. L. , & Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action. Information, Communication and Society, 15(5), 739-768.
- Bitektine, A. , & Haack, P. (2015). The "macro" and the "micro" of legitimacy: Toward a multilevel theory of the legitimacy process. Academy of Management Review, 40(1), 49-75.
- Colleoni, E., Illia, L. and Ziglidopolous, S., (2021) Exploring how publics discursively organize as digital collectives: The use of empty and floating signifiers as organizing devices in social media. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press Journal.
- Devers, C. E., Dewett, T., Mishina, Y., & Belsito, C. A. (2009). A general theory of organizational stigma. Organization Science, 20(1), 154-171.
- Glikson, E.l. & Williams-Woolley, A (2020). Human Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Review of empirical research. Academy of Management Annals 14(2). 627–660 
- Etter, M., Albu, O. B. (2021). Activists in the dark: Social media algorithms and collective action in two social movement organizations. Organization, 28, 68–91.
- Etter, M. , Colleoni, E. , Illia, L. , Meggiorin, K. , D' Eugenio, A. (2018). Measuring organizational legitimacy in social media: Assessing citizens' judgments with sentiment analysis. Business and Society, 57(1), 60-97.
- Etter, M. , Ravasi, D. , & Colleoni, E. (2019). Social media and the formation of reputation. Academy of Management Review, 44(1), 28-52.
- Illia, L., Colleoni, E., Etter, M., Meggiorin, K., (2023) Finding the Tipping Point: When Heterogeneous Evaluations in Social Media Converge and Influence Organizational Legitimacy . (2022). In Business and Society, Vol. 62(1) 117–150
- Illia, L., Colleoni, E., Zyglodopolous. S" (2023) Ethical implications of text generation in the age of artificial intelligence.  Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 32:201–210.  
- Montieri, V. (2018). Nike YU no do it yourself: Decrowning brands by means of memes. In Discourses of (De) Legitimization (pp. 187-207). Routledge.
- Ross, A. S., & Rivers, D. J. (2017). Digital cultures of political participation: Internet memes and the discursive delegitimization of the 2016 US Presidential candidates. Discourse, Context & Media, 16, 1-11.
- Vaara, E. , & Monin, P. (2010). A recursive perspective on discursive legitimation and organizational action in mergers and acquisitions. Organization Science, 21, 3-22.
- Vaara, E. , & Tienari, J. (2008). A discursive perspective on legitimation strategies in MNCs. Academy of Management Review, 33(4), 985-993.

The seminar will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1.            Reading presentation + debate 40 %

2.            Exercise "class monitoring" + active participation in the sessions of presentations: 30%.

3.            Research proposal + presentation of the proposal: 30%.

No retake exam

Continuously assessed courses: it will no longer be possible to unregister or withdraw from a course after the registration period (see session calendar on the Faculty website).

If you are writing a seminar paper, you must register separately for the seminar paper. Please register for the seminar paper on MyUnifr under "course registration".