From New to Normal: Designing for product category legitimacy

A large number of new products and services, such as electric cars, solar panels, and electric boats are introduced and play an important role during sustainability transitions. However, when introduced, these new products do not fit with established aspects of society such as expectations, habits, and infrastructures, leading to low levels of legitimacy. Based on the definition of Suchman (1995) I define the legitimacy of products as: The generalized perception or assumption that the use of a product category is appropriate, proper, or desirable within a specific context of physical objects and elements and a socially constructed system of norms, values, rules, beliefs, and expectations. Legitimacy is seen as a prerequisite for large--‐ scale adoption of new products and services...