Lexical Inflation of “Logistics” in France: Implications for Professional Identity and Public Perception

Gilles Paché
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Gilles Paché: CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon

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Abstract: Over recent decades, the term logistics has migrated from a specialized technical term to a fixture in media discourse, applied to contexts ranging from the organization of an international summit to the preparation of a family picnic or a wedding. The article examines this semantic expansion through the French case, assessing its media framing and its impact on both social and professional perceptions of logistics management. Drawing on insights from communication and management scholarship, it demonstrates a paradox: heightened visibility confers symbolic value on activities long considered mundane yet simultaneously diminishes recognition of the complexity and expertise inherent in supply chain management (SCM). The phenomenon reflects less a simple semantic drift than a performative process in which language actively shapes collective representations. The consequences are significant for mass communication and for safeguarding the technical legitimacy of the logistics profession. In an environment where words often circulate faster than the ideas they express-particularly through social mediathree avenues of inquiry emerge: expanding cross-cultural comparisons, conducting longitudinal analyses of buzzword usage, and investigating the professional issues of lexical inflation.

Keywords: Buzzwords; Communication; Discourse analysis; France; Lexical inflation; Logistics; Media framing; Semantic change; Social perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
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Published in New Media and Mass Communication, 2026, 111, pp.35-46. ⟨10.7176/NMMC/111-04⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05579886

DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/111-04

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