The legitimating power of a multi-vocal digital dialogue in framing the organizational discourse

This paper intends to contribute to the understanding of the power of words at the level of discursive strategies and framing processes with a focus on how these are interrelated in digital spaces in ways that can enable and constrain corporate talk. The main purpose of the paper is to show how a critical discourse analysis of hypermodal messages can enhance our understanding of the interdependent relations of power and resistance in the talk strategically promoted by an organization in a social media context. In particular, the paper explores the publicly available messages posted on the Facebook page of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) non-profit organization from Hawaii. The dynamic character of this multi-vocal dialogue is examined in the Facebook sub-arena by analysing the interplay of the discursive strategies of legitimation and framing processes employed by the organization.