Legitimacy and field development: Electricity transition(s) in Germany

Abstract

The paper draws on recent developments in the field of electricity generation and distribution in Germany to outline some basic assumptions on how legitimation strategies are framed and differ between emerging and stable action fields. We analyze decentralized forms of electricity generation and distribution. Pioneers of this development seized opportunities connected with broad institutional changes to discredit the status quo and work out legitimations for their new model of how to generate and distribute electricity. Just like skilled actors in stable fields working on adaptation strategies to changing environments, the ones in emerging fields engaged in working out new search strategies, built coalitions, undertook collective action, and established affiliations with recognized authorities and elites. However, unlike skilled actors in stable fields, those in the emerging ones, could not build on established routines. Instead, they drew on logics from outside their field and emphasized the benefits of their activities for society at large. Our analysis shows how actors legitimate novel organizational forms in emerging fields vs. the attempts of incumbent actors in mature fields to preserve their position in a contentious period. Theories of social change should explicitly account for field context.