Legitimacy in public recreation: examining rhetorical shifts in institutional creation and maintenance

Abstract

This paper uncovers the rhetorical strategies used by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) to affect institutional discourse and field logics during the first 25 years of its existence (1965-1990). Analyzing editorials featured in the organization's flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, we describe how the NRPA sought to establish itself as the legitimate steward of public recreation, sport, and leisure in the U.S. by utilizing five rhetorical approaches: normalization, rationalization, moralization, authorization, and anti-authorization. Furthermore, we identify discrete patterns and combinations of strategies that have thus far not been described in the literature. Our research adds to prior sport-related institutional work scholarship, which has examined the importance of legitimacy in attempting to establish alternative modes of organizing and functioning in a field dominated by powerful incumbents, by offering an alternative look at the 'starting-fromscratch' establishment of a unified field logic.

From isomorphism to institutional work: advancing institutional theory in sport management research

“…Being perceived as legitimate is important as those perceptions allow access to the cognitive support and resources necessary for survival (Deephouse & Suchman, 2008). Legitimacy has been both a focal point of sport management research (e.g., Nite & Hutchinson, 2018;Sam & Tore Ronglan, 2018;Sant & Mason, 2019;Stenling & Sam, 2017;Strittmatter et al, 2018) and has been included within other sport management institutional research (e.g., Edwards & Washington, 2015;Hemme & Morais, 2021;Huml et al, 2018;Li et al, 2020). Considering legitimacy is a social construction, we contend that institutional work is imperative when examining legitimation processes.…”

Institutional plurality and a fractured organizational self

“…Given the purpose of this study, we engaged in two explicit analysis strategies. First, we follow previous research analysis strategies when exploring institutional theory in a sport context that follows the Gioia et al (2013) method (Cocchiarella and Edwards, 2020;Hemme and Morais, 2021;Nite, 2017;Nite et al, 2019;Nite and Nauright, 2020). Second, we employed a deductive analysis strategy to explore the NCAA's responses to the plurality in the field.…”

“…Further, we analyzed news media articles for a media account of issues in college athletics from the New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN and Sports Illustrated regarding organizational issues and decisions. After collecting the data, we performed a content analysis utilizing a common Plurality and fractured organizational self strategy that other institutional theorists in sport research employ (Agyemang et al, 2018;Hemme and Morais, 2021;Nite et al, 2019;Nite and Nauright, 2020).…”

Institutional Theory in Sport: A Scoping Review

“…Finally, some studies in this area have specifically addressed a call for research by Washington and Patterson (2011) on the dynamics of creating and changing logics in field level institutions. Hemme and Morais (2021), for example, identified and described five rhetorical strategies used by the National Parks and Recreation Association to develop and promote the field-level logic of public recreation in the United States. Greenwood et al (2017) argue that "understanding how organizations cope with multiple logics is a priority in institutional research because scholars acknowledge that such plurality is rather the norm than the exception" (p. 11).…”