Constructing the legitimacy of a financial cooperative in the cultural sector: a case study using textual analysis

Abstract

This article investigates the foundations of cooperative identity and how it is constructed by the organization. More specifically, our research focuses on a financial cooperative in the simultaneously emerging and consolidating cultural sector. The originality of this article lies in the methodology used – textual analysis. We use the Economies of Worth model developed by Boltanski and Thévenot (2006 Boltanski , L. and Thévenot , L. , 2006 . On justification: economies of worth . Studies in Cultural Sociology Series Princeton : Princeton University Press . [Google Scholar]), which accounts for a plurality of legitimate forms of evaluation used in the processes of critique and justification.