On autopilot inside the beltway: Organizational failure, the doctrine of localism, and the case of digital audio broadcasting

Abstract

This paper examines the organizational theory of regulatory failure of the Federal Communications Commission as evidenced in policies and actions concerning the development of the construct of localism. The conceptualization of localism as a market values construct added to a social values construct needlessly limits, misdirects, and construes current policy debates as well as stunts the development of emergent technologies. The digital audio broadcasting debate is used to illustrate the effects of an interpretive community's selective histories and organizational regulatory failure.