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Through its use of a nationwide survey that assessed the most significant personal and organizational values among the general public, the purpose of this paper is to identify how individuals’ personal values serve an important role in guiding the value expectations they have for organizations.

A research firm was hired to disseminate a survey to a stratified sample of 735 of adults in the US measures used in the study were a socially desirable human values subscale and a socially desirable organizational values subscale.

The results from several regression analyses confirmed that stakeholders’ personal values predict the values they expect from organizations with which they choose to conduct business.

Organizations must recognize that values play a significant role in the legitimation process as both are represented by actions and social desirability. In the realm of corporate communication, organizations continually encounter situations in which they must establish, maintain and defend their legitimacy using strategic communication efforts. These difficult feats can only be accomplished by viewing legitimacy as a measureable construct that is ultimately shaped by acting and communicating in ways that meet the value-driven expectations of stakeholders.

This paper fills a gap in the literature that identifies whether stakeholders personal values drive or influence the values they expect to be displayed by legitimate organizations.