Manifestations of expert power in gatekeeping: a conceptual study

Author:

Savolainen ReijoORCID

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to elaborate the picture of the relationships between information and power by examining how expert power appears in the characterizations of gatekeeping presented in the research literature.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses conceptual analysis for examining how expert power is constitutive of the construct of gatekeeper and how people subject to the influence of gatekeeping trust or challenge the expert power attributed to gatekeepers. The study draws on the analysis of 40 key studies on the above issues.FindingsResearchers have mainly constructed the gatekeepers' expert power in terms of superior knowledge and skills applicable to a specific domain, coupled with an ability to control or facilitate access to information. The gatekeeper's expert power has been approached as a contextual factor that facilitates rather than controls access to information. The power relationships between the gatekeepers and those subject to gatekeeping vary contextually, depending on the extent to which the latter have access to alternative sources of information. The findings highlight the need to elaborate the construct of gatekeeping by rethinking its relevance in the networked information environments where the traditional picture of gatekeepers controlling access to information sources is eroding.Research limitations/implicationsAs the study focuses on how expert power figures in gatekeeping, no attention is devoted to the role of social power of other types, for example, reward power and referent power.Originality/valueThe study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the nature of expert power as a constituent of gatekeeping.

Publisher

Emerald

Subject

Library and Information Sciences,Information Systems

Reference70 articles.

1. Inner-city gatekeepers: an exploratory survey of their information use environment;Journal of the American Society for Information Science,1999

2. Performance of communication channels in the transfer of technology;Industrial Management Review,1966

3. Toward a theory of network gatekeeping: a framework for exploring information control;Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,2008

4. Barzilai-Nahon, K. (2009), “Gatekeeping: a critical review”, in Cronin, B. (Ed.), Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Vol. 43, Wiley, Medford, NJ, pp. 1-79.

Cited by 9 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Gatekeeper Networks, Knowledge Inertia, and Knowledge Performance in Business Incubators;Journal of Organizational and End User Computing;2023-11-15

2. Gatekeeping structures and trust development in public sector organizations;Journal of Documentation;2023-11-03

3. Journalistic Verification Practices From the BBC World News and Al Jazeera English;Howard Journal of Communications;2023-07-19

4. Surveillance as information practice;Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology;2023-01-18

5. Gigging it in the shire: information practices of Renaissance faire performers and artisans;Journal of Documentation;2022-11-28

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3