Field-Configuring Projects? How Projects Shape the Framing of Electric Mobility in Germany

Abstract

Organizing in the context of projects has been investigated extensively on the project and organizational levels, yet the field-configuring potential of this organizational form is still poorly understood. We analyze two projects in relation to electric mobility (EMO) in Germany and study how the narratives and frames connected with these projects are related to the reception of electric mobility in the field-level public debate. To investigate the potential of these projects to configure organizational fields, we have applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach by combining interpretative qualitative methods with big data research strategies. The results highlight how projects configure fields by opening and closing public debates and frames. In a broader sense, this study contributes to a more complete understanding of the relation between projects and events based on three scenarios: project-by-itself, project-follows-event and event-follows-project.