Organically grown: Emergent power and influence in complex issue networks

While issues management is an important area of research and practice in organizational communication and public relations, the literature focuses primarily on instrumental applications. Conceiving of issue networks---loose configurations of institutional actors, interest groups, organizations, technical specialists, and concerned citizens---as complex systems of interconnected agents offers a fresh perspective on the ways power and influence are exercised and negotiated among organizations, the media, and policymaking bodies. Combined use of social and semantic network analysis makes it possible to examine complex, dynamic linkages between social relationships and conceptual positions. This paper reports on a study of the organic foods issue network in the United States, based on the minutes of National Organics Standards Board meetings and media coverage of the issue. The use of textual as well as relational data allows for more sophisticated computations of patterns, providing insight on power structures as well as organizational and issue identities. This study is intended as a first step toward understanding the mechanisms of issue emergence and development as an aid for scholars and practitioners of media communication, organizational issues management, cultural economy, and policy studies.