AI responsibility by design? How startup founders frame and govern AI adoption
AI responsibility by design? How startup founders frame and govern AI adoption
Author(s): Diana Olar, Diana IordacheSubject(s): Economy, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Business Ethics
Published by: Universitatea din Bucuresti, Facultatea de Sociologie si Asistenta Sociala
Keywords: AI adoption; Startup governance; Justification practices; Institutional logics; AI ethics; Entrepreneurship; Boundary-work; Innovation management; Organizational decision-making; Legitimacy constructi
Summary/Abstract: This article explores how startup founders justify AI-related strategic decisions and negotiate boundaries of responsibility, legitimacy, and ethical acceptability in resource-constrained organizational environments. Drawing on a sociological framework of justification and boundary-work, the analysis uses mixed-method survey data from 72 founders. Results show that most respondents employ efficiency-based justifications, while ethical and civic rationales remain largely symbolic or anticipatory. Despite widespread recognition of AI-related risks, only a minority of founders have implemented concrete governance mechanisms, with most relying on informal practices and shifting responsibility across actors. The findings demonstrate how symbolic legitimacy is constructed through selective invocation of moral logics and illustrate the contingent, negotiated nature of ethical boundary-setting in early-stage AI adoption.
Journal: Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology
- Issue Year: 16/2025
- Issue No: 02
- Page Range: 23-41
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English
