Legitimacy and Illegitimacy of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Perceptions from the French Management Context

Régis Meissonier (), Cécile Godé (), Bernard Quinio (), Alain Goudey and Philippine Loupiac
Additional contact information
Régis Meissonier: UM - Université de Montpellier, Mémoires - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) Montpellier - UM - Université de Montpellier, MRM-SI - Montpellier Research in Management - Systèmes d’Information - MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier
Cécile Godé: CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon
Bernard Quinio: CEROS - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Organisations et la Stratégie - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre
Alain Goudey: NEOMA - Neoma Business School
Philippine Loupiac: TBS - Toulouse Business School

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly transforming French management higher education, presenting both opportunities and ethical challenges. This mixed-methods study investigates divergent stakeholder perceptions of GenAI legitimacy (students, faculty, and deans) through the pragmatic, moral, and cognitive dimensions of Suchman's triadic model. Empirical findings reveal that the perceived legitimacy of GenAI in higher education coexists with forms of illegitimacy, reflected in persistent tensions across pragmatic, cognitive, and moral dimensions.The discussion shows persistent tensions between short-term utility and long-term ethical concerns, and argues that sustainable integration of GenAI requires institutional strategies prioritizing the reduction of perceived illegitimacy. By embedding the analysis of illegitimacy into legitimacy theory, this study extends conceptual tools for future research and offers actionable insights for guiding responsible GenAI adoption in higher education

Keywords: Generative AI; legitimacy; higher education; illegitimacy; pragmatic; moral; cognitive (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Communications of the Association for Information Systems, inPress

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05552229

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().