Where's the beef? Institutional (de)legitimation of cultured meat in France and Italy

As breakthrough innovations are increasingly debated, their acceptance during the pre-market phase becomes critical in shaping future industrial trajectories. Yet, we still know little about how public debate shapes legitimacy during this phase. We address this gap by explaining how legitimacy is socially constructed through competing public frames. Using topic modelling on media coverage of cultured meat in Italy and France, we show that competing interpretative stakeholders’ coalitions generate contrasting legitimation trajectories, highlighting how national public debate shapes industrial opportunities.