Enacting change through borrowed legitimacy: an institutional perspective

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to offer borrowed legitimacy through coalitions as an explanation for how an organization might successfully deviate from social norms to enact change, yet still gain sufficient cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy for survival. This paper explains that borrowing legitimacy through a coalition allows an illegitimate organization to impose an alternative future despite institutional pressures for its convergence to social norms, rules and expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

To explore the ability of an organization that lacks legitimacy to borrow legitimacy through a coalition, the authors use a case study and content analysis of interviews, news articles and other publicly available secondary data to examine an environmentalist organization, Sea Shepherds, who openly seek legitimacy and resources, and are engaged in enacting change while using a unique or alternative form.

Findings

The case study here shows how a coalition with another organization that already has legitimacy can help the reference organization gain legitimacy themselves by borrowing legitimacy initially. Specifically, because more constituents are aware of the organization with existing legitimacy, the coalition allows the reference organization to borrow that cognitive legitimacy and constituents become aware of the reference organization as well.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study provides meaningful insights to the phenomena at hand, it is limited in method and scope. As noted by Zucker, the institutional environment is very important to organization form and likelihood of success (Zucker, 1987); however, this paper does not include a parameter that recognizes the environment specifically. Instead, the model includes a parameter, p, to acknowledge that there are exogenous factors that affect the likelihood of a successful outcome that are not considered individually in the model. Also, this study does not empirically test specific hypotheses using a generalizable sample.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to institutional theory by providing a case study of an organization that is enacting change in lieu of the forces that promote institutionalization. The reference organization in the case study demonstrates one form of entrepreneurial organization that successfully deviates from social norms to enact change, yet still gains cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy. The case study in this paper contributes by providing an example of an organizational form that allows a seemingly illegitimate organization to envision and impose an alternative future despite institutional pressures by forming a coalition with an actor that already has legitimacy.

Citation

Mattingly, E.S. and Westover, J.H. (2015), "Enacting change through borrowed legitimacy: an institutional perspective", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 637-651. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-07-2014-0789