Founders as architects of hype: Influencing propriety and validity beliefs in emerging technologies

This dissertation examines how founders strategically influence legitimacy beliefs to generate hype around emerging technologies. Drawing on Bitektine and Haack's (2015) multilevel theory of legitimacy, this research investigates the micro-foundations of hype generation by distinguishing between propriety beliefs (individual assessments of appropriateness) and validity beliefs (perceptions of collective acceptance). Through a mixed-methods approach including interviews with entrepreneurs, scale development, and two experimental studies, this dissertation addresses three fundamental questions about legitimacy-based hype formation. Specifically, the research develops and validates new measures for individual hype, propriety beliefs, and validity beliefs. After which, two experiments tested how rhetorical strategies emphasizing technology success (propriety strategy) and technological inevitability (validity strategy) influence stakeholder beliefs and subsequent hype generation, with media valence as a moderator. Key findings reveal that propriety beliefs serve as the primary driver of hype, explaining over 50% of variance in stakeholder enthusiasm. Strategies emphasizing technology success effectively enhanced propriety beliefs and fully mediated the relationship to hype generation. Contrary to theoretical predictions, validity strategies failed to selectively influence validity beliefs, and media valence operated as a "belief formation amplifier" rather than a judgment validation institution, directly moderating strategy effectiveness independent of measured beliefs. Surprisingly, propriety beliefs were dominated by moral rather than pragmatic considerations, while validity beliefs reflected instrumental reasoning about others' support. The hype measure revealed emotional excitement as more influential than cognitive expectations in driving stakeholder engagement, though high hype levels paradoxically coexisted with negative investment intentions. These findings advance legitimacy theory by demonstrating the primacy of individual moral judgments over collective consensus in uncertain technological contexts. For practitioners, the research suggests that successful legitimacy strategies must resonate with stakeholders' personal ethical frameworks rather than simply signaling widespread acceptance. This work contributes to entrepreneurship literature by revealing the micro-foundations of legitimacy belief formation and challenging conventional assumptions about collective validation in technology adoption.