Tension, torn, or truly stuck? Understanding tensions in multi-stakeholder recommender development at legacy media companies through paradox theory

Introduction As legacy media companies increasingly integrate recommender systems (RS) into their online content dissemination, they face the challenge of designing RS that reflect the divergent and often conflicting values of various organizational stakeholders. To date, research on multi-stakeholder RS development has remained largely descriptive with regard to such intra-organizational tensions. This paper addresses this gap by examining these tensions through paradox theory. Methods First, we examine the applicability of paradox theory for studying value-sensitive RS design. Subsequently, we use this framework to analyze 20 in-depth interviews with organizational stakeholders, acknowledging the individual sensemaking through which media managers interpret, frame, and operationalize competing values. Results Our findings show the applicability of paradox theory as a useful framework for mapping tensions and reveal the underlying paradoxical dynamics at play, demonstrating that tensions are intertwined across multiple levels. Furthermore, our analysis shows that stakeholders may interpret tensions differently and that these varying frames directly shape how tensions are managed. Discussion This study contributes to the scholarship on value-sensitive RS design by providing conceptual clarity on intra-organizational tensions and how they are interrelated. Furthermore, the paper aligns theoretically prescribed resolve strategies with the solutions articulated by practitioners, offering both theoretical depth and practical insights into how these complex dynamics can be managed in multi-stakeholder settings.