Cultural entrepreneurship and the role of visuals in interactive frame alignment process

Abstract

We study visuals as fundamental ingredients to generate the emotional energy necessary for entrepreneurs to gain legitimacy. Through the analysis of the work of few entrepreneurs in creating an organization for coordinating the mobilization against plastic pollution, we develop a process model of the strategic use of visuals for legitimation consisting in two main steps: first, emotional equipment and; second, emotional alignment. We observe three strategies through which entrepreneurs legitimize their new frames using visuals: shock alignment, heroic alignment and iconological alignment. Theoretically, we aim to extend recent efforts in analyzing visuals in the cultural entrepreneurship process synthesizing institutional theory with framing and interaction sociology.