Framing AI Governance: A Discourse and Rhetorical Analysis of Corporate Legitimation Strategies
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2025-06-24
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en
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As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly central to organizational processes and public life, companies face growing pressure to legitimize their AI governance. This thesis examines how firms construct legitimacy for AI governance through corporate discourse and rhetorical strategies. Drawing on Legitimacy Theory (Suchman, 1995) and Rhetorical Legitimation Strategies (Erkama & Vaara, 2010), the study combines Critical Discourse Analysis and Rhetorical Analysis to analyze cor- porate documents from six multinational firms active in the AI domain. The findings show that all three types of legitimacy—pragmatic, cognitive and moral—are actively constructed, with pragmatic legiti- macy being most frequently observed. Companies used layered rhetorical strategies, most notably ethos and logos, to reinforce these claims. The empirical link between rhetorical strategy and legitimacy type forms the core contribution of this thesis. It demonstrates that AI legitimacy is not passively acquired but actively constructed through discourse. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how companies position AI governance as ethically sound, strategically valuable and institutionally appro- priate. It also shows that communication plays a central role in shaping how AI governance is perceived by regulators, stakeholders and the broader public.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen