Books and journals Case studies Expert Briefings Open Access
Advanced search

Search results

1 – 10 of over 7000
To view the access options for this content please click here
Book part
Publication date: 1 June 2017

When Orders of Worth Clash: Negotiating Legitimacy in Situations of Moral Multiplexity

Juliane Reinecke, Koen van Bommel and Andre Spicer

How is moral legitimacy established in pluralist contexts where multiple moral frameworks co-exist and compete? Situations of moral multiplexity complicate not only…

HTML
PDF (519 KB)
EPUB (472 KB)

Abstract

How is moral legitimacy established in pluralist contexts where multiple moral frameworks co-exist and compete? Situations of moral multiplexity complicate not only whether an organization or practice is legitimate but also which criteria should be used to establish moral legitimacy. We argue that moral legitimacy can be thought of as the property of a dynamic dialogical process in which relations between moral schemes are constantly (re-)negotiated through dynamic exchange with audiences. Drawing on Boltanski and Thévenot’s ‘orders of worth’ framework, we propose a process model of how three types of truces may be negotiated: transcendence, compromise, antagonism. While each can create moral legitimacy in pluralistic contexts, legitimacy is not a binary variable but varying in degrees of scope and certainty.

Details

Justification, Evaluation and Critique in the Study of Organizations
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20170000052002
ISBN: 978-1-78714-379-1

Keywords

  • Economies of worth
  • French pragmatist sociology
  • dialogue
  • justifications
  • moral legitimacy
  • convention theory

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 18 June 2018

HPWS and climate for inclusion: a moral legitimacy lens

Jennifer A. Harrison, Janet A. Boekhorst and Yin Yu

The purpose of this paper is to apply insights from the moral legitimacy theory to understand how climate for inclusion (CFI) is cultivated at the individual and…

HTML
PDF (229 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply insights from the moral legitimacy theory to understand how climate for inclusion (CFI) is cultivated at the individual and collective levels, thereby highlighting the influence of employee perceptions of inclusion-oriented high-performance work systems (HPWS) on CFI.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-level conceptual framework is introduced to explain how employee perceptions develop about the moral legitimacy of inclusion-oriented HPWS and the subsequent influence on CFI.

Findings

CFI is theorized to manifest when employees perceive inclusion-oriented HPWS as morally legitimate according to four unit-level features. Employees with a strong moral identity will be particularly attuned to the moral legitimacy of each of the unit-level HPWS features, thereby strengthening the perceived HPWS and CFI relationship at the individual level. The convergence of individual-level perceptions of CFI to the collective level will be strongest when climate variability is low for majority and minority groups.

Practical implications

Organizations seeking to develop CFI should consider the role of HPWS and the perceived moral legitimacy of such systems. This consideration may involve policy amendments to include a broadened scope of HPWS.

Originality/value

This paper explores how employee perceptions of the moral legitimacy of HPWS can help or hinder CFI, thereby offering a novel framework for future inclusion and human resource management research.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-12-2016-0112
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

  • High-performance work systems
  • Climate for inclusion
  • Moral legitimacy

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 22 August 2020

Moral motives, police legitimacy and acceptance of force

Jasmine R. Silver

This study extends legitimacy theory by examining individualizing and binding moral motives and perceptions of police.

HTML
PDF (172 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

This study extends legitimacy theory by examining individualizing and binding moral motives and perceptions of police.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are drawn from an online survey of the public (N = 961). OLS regression is used to predict global perceptions of legitimacy, as well as department legitimacy and acceptance of force in an experimental vignette that manipulates procedural justice.

Findings

The binding moral motive is associated with greater global and department legitimacy and acceptance of force. The individualizing moral motive is associated with reduced global legitimacy and acceptance of force, and with department legitimacy when procedural justice is low. Perceptions of legitimacy mediate the effects of the binding moral motive on acceptance of force and of the individualizing moral motive when procedural justice is low.

Research limitations/implications

This study identifies novel antecedents of police legitimacy and acceptance of force (i.e. binding and individualizing moral motives).

Social implications

This study provides insight into public attitudes regarding use of force.

Originality/value

This study is the first to propose and test a link between binding and individualizing moral motives and perceptions of police.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2020-0056
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

  • Moral foundations theory
  • Police legitimacy
  • Police procedural justice
  • Police use of force

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 6 April 2020

A study on the process and mechanism of social enterprise’s legitimation: Based on analysis of social enterprise’s coopetition with multiple stakeholders

Siqi Xu and Youmin Xi

This paper aims to explore the complete process and underlying mechanism that social enterprises obtain legitimacy during interactions with stakeholders from theoretical…

HTML
PDF (1.3 MB)

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the complete process and underlying mechanism that social enterprises obtain legitimacy during interactions with stakeholders from theoretical integration of institutional theory and organization ecology perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on theoretical classification, this paper selects six typical Chinese social enterprises and conducts a multi-case analysis.

Findings

The study finds that social enterprises aim at legitimizing single entity or industry and shaping stakeholders’ cognitive boundary simultaneously. Therefore, by adopting constrained cooperation and competition activities, social enterprises use normative isomorphism to achieve personal legitimation and combining ecological niche construction, social enterprises achieve organizational legitimation. By adopting fragmented cooperation-dominant or competition-dominant activities, social enterprises use mimic isomorphism supplemented by competitive isomorphism or population structure creation to obtain industry legitimation. By adopting dynamically integrated coopetition activities, social enterprises use mimic isomorphism and reflexive isomorphism to reach field legitimation.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a mechanism model that the coopetition with stakeholders influences the legitimation process, identifies four stages of social enterprise’s legitimation process and the types of legitimacy obtained in each stage and fills the gap of Chinese indigenous social enterprise research.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/NBRI-08-2019-0042
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

  • Social enterprise
  • Legitimacy
  • Legitimation
  • Coopetition
  • Cooperation and competition

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 20 February 2020

Consumer legitimacy: conceptualization and measurement scales

Arilova A. Randrianasolo and Mark J. Arnold

This paper aims to propose the concept of consumer legitimacy, develops scales to measure this concept and shows its utility and relevance in the international marketing field.

HTML
PDF (217 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose the concept of consumer legitimacy, develops scales to measure this concept and shows its utility and relevance in the international marketing field.

Design/methodology/approach

A four-step deductive approach (construct definition, item generation, scale purification and scale validation) is used to develop scales for three dimensions of consumer legitimacy, then a structural model of antecedents and outcomes of the construct provides validity for the developed scales.

Findings

Results validate the developed scales with different multinational enterprise contexts across two countries. It is found that perception of social responsibility influences three dimensions of consumer legitimacy, both moral and cognitive legitimacy influence willingness to buy firm products, and moral legitimacy influences attitudes toward the firm.

Practical implications

As a crucial resource, legitimacy can offer firms comparative advantages that lead to competitive advantages. The findings of this research provide a new perspective on how firms may measure, acquire and/or increase this resource.

Originality/value

This paper shifts the discussion of legitimacy to a key firm stakeholder that has been ignored in the literature: consumers. Thus, it implies that both researchers and practitioners should provide stronger consideration to the consumer role in granting legitimacy.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 37 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2019-3124
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

  • Scale development
  • Organizational legitimacy
  • Institutional environment
  • Consumer stakeholders

Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 December 2020

Exploring the evolving motives underlying corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in developing countries: the case of “political CSR” reporting

M. Karim Sorour, Philip J. Shrives, Ahmed Ayman El-Sakhawy and Teerooven Soobaroyen

This paper seeks to investigate to what extent (and why) CSR reporting in developing countries reflect instrumental and/or “political CSR” motivations and the types of…

Open Access
HTML
PDF (283 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to investigate to what extent (and why) CSR reporting in developing countries reflect instrumental and/or “political CSR” motivations and the types of organisational legitimacy sought in these circumstances.

Design/methodology/approach

We adopt a theoretical framework based on neo-institutional theory, “political CSR” framework and types of organisational legitimacy. This interpretive research is set in the Egyptian context post-2011 revolution. We first carry out a content analysis of web disclosures for 40 banks in 2013 and 2016 to ascertain the nature of CSR activities and any changes over time. Second, we draw on 21 interviews to tease out the implications of the change in societal expectations due to the revolution and to deepen our understanding of the organisational motivations underlying CSR reporting.

Findings

Following the 2011 revolution, the banks’ CSR reporting practices have gradually shifted from a largely instrumental “business-case” perspective towards a more substantive recognition of a wider set of societal challenges consistent with a political CSR perspective. Overall, the maintaining/gaining of legitimacy is gradually bound to the communication of accounts about the multi-faceted socially valued consequences or structures performed by banks. Our interview data shows that participants reflected on the legitimation challenges brought by the revolution and the limits of transactional strategies involving traditional constituents, with a preference for pursuing consequential and structural forms of moral legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications

This study demonstrates a constructive shift by businesses towards engaging with the new social rules in response to sociopolitical changes and the need to achieve moral legitimacy. Hence, policymakers and stakeholders could consider engaging with different economic sectors to foster more transparent, accountable, and impactful CSR practices.

Originality/value

We highlight the implications of Scherer and Palazzo’s political CSR approach for accountability and CSR reporting. CSR reporting in some developing countries has typically been seen as peripheral or a symbolic exercise primarily concerned with placating stakeholders and/or promoting shareholders’ interests. We suggest that researchers need to be instead attuned to the possibility of a blend of instrumental and normative motivations.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-07-2019-4080
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

  • Legitimacy
  • Banks
  • Developing nations
  • CSR
  • Disclosures

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 18 November 2019

The networked enterprise and legitimacy judgments: why digital platforms need leadership

Chong Wang and Peter Wilson Cardon

In recent years, scholars, business practitioners and consultants frequently talk about building the networked enterprise. The purpose of this paper is to examine the…

HTML
PDF (191 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, scholars, business practitioners and consultants frequently talk about building the networked enterprise. The purpose of this paper is to examine the connections between networked enterprises, organizational legitimacy and organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was developed that measured the following aspects of a networked enterprise: employees who network and communicate extensively via internal digital platforms across their organizations; leaders who actively use internal digital platforms to communicate with employees; leaders who actively communicate with stakeholders via external digital platforms; and an innovation culture. The survey measured the following forms of legitimacy judgments: moral; instrumental; and relational. Altogether, 501 executives and managers were surveyed (207 executives, 147 senior managers and 147 managers) in mid-to-large sized (over 500 employees) companies.

Findings

The analyses showed strong statistical significance for nearly all relationships. Internal communication on digital platforms, networked employee communication and an innovation culture all contributed to moral, instrumental and relational legitimacy. Leadership communication on external digital platforms (social media) was not a significant contributor to moral or relational legitimacy but was a significant contributor to instrumental legitimacy. Higher organization legitimacy was correlated with higher profit growth.

Practical implications

Leaders and communicators should prioritize a networked enterprise in several ways. They should actively communicate with employees on internal digital platforms. To be absent on internal digital platforms is a significant missed opportunity by leaders to build organizational legitimacy. Further, leaders and communicators should actively promote networked communication among employees as much as possible. Finally, leaders and communicators should communicate, model and reward an innovation culture.

Originality/value

There are no known scholarly studies that accomplish the following: empirically examine a model of networked enterprises comprised of vertical and horizontal communication and an innovation culture; and make connections between leadership communication on digital platforms in networked enterprises with legitimacy judgments. The large sample of contemporary executives and managers bolsters the strength of the findings.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 40 no. 6
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-04-2019-0073
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

  • Innovation culture
  • Leadership communication
  • Internal communication
  • Digital platforms
  • Enterprise social networks
  • Networked enterprises
  • Organizational legitimacy
  • Social media

To view the access options for this content please click here
Book part
Publication date: 14 September 2018

Striving for Corporate Legitimacy through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Insights from NGO’s Perspectives

Mahadir Ladisma Awis, Hazman Shah Vijayan Abdullah, Norziana Lokman and Roshima Said

The aim of this chapter is to develop the measurement of corporate legitimacy among Government-linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. Corporate legitimacy is important for…

HTML
PDF (506 KB)
EPUB (394 KB)

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to develop the measurement of corporate legitimacy among Government-linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. Corporate legitimacy is important for determining the survival of the corporation. The term of legitimacy can be classified into three different aspects, namely, political, economic, and social legitimacy. Political legitimacy indicates the right to govern and rule; economic legitimacy reflects on success through product selling, customers’ satisfaction, and providing better services and goods. However, in the corporate sectors, corporate social responsibility is used as a platform not only to gain economic legitimacy, but most importantly to achieve social legitimacy. Social legitimacy focuses on corporation as a societal institution that is more complex by combining the social norms, values, and expectation. With the above argument, this chapter explores how corporate social responsibility (or corporate responsibility) can be used to show societal acceptance reflecting their corporate legitimacy. The corporations are expected to be socially acceptable according to social norms, values, and beliefs. The growth of the corporation has faced a number of challenges in gaining and maintaining their existence. While the corporations are expected to deal with the challenges effectively, the corporations must also be relevant in the eyes of the stakeholders. To establish this, corporations emphasized on gaining and maintaining legitimacy through various mechanisms. The principles of legitimacy are related to the conformity to the norms, values, and expectation of their stakeholders’ engagement through corporate social activities. The study employed a cross-sectional sample survey designed to collect data from a pre-selected list of non-governmental organization (NGOs) obtained from the Registrar of Societies, Malaysia. From a list of about 22,000 societies, 377 were shortlisted covering five categories of societies: community welfare, education, sport, social and recreation, and business and trade union. This study measured three dimensions of corporate legitimacy comprising pragmatic, moral, and cognitive legitimacy. Using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), this study found that there is a high level of corporate legitimacy from the perspective of NGOs, which indicated that the NGOs highly view the corporate legitimacy of Malaysian GLCs through their corporate responsibility activities.

Details

Stakeholders, Governance and Responsibility
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320180000014006
ISBN: 978-1-78756-380-3

Keywords

  • Corporate legitimacy
  • corporate social responsibility
  • corporate responsibility activities
  • Government-Linked Companies
  • non-governmental organization
  • Malaysian GLCs

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 27 July 2020

Rhetoric and propriety judgments: reflections from bottled water

Jeffrey Gauthier and Jeffrey A. Kappen

The purpose of this paper is to examine the rhetorical strategies used by organizations in support of propriety judgments concerning their products.

HTML
PDF (152 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the rhetorical strategies used by organizations in support of propriety judgments concerning their products.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken entails discourse and rhetorical analysis of texts produced by leading firms in the bottled water industry, and by the industry’s trade association, surrounding issues of sustainability.

Findings

The analysis reveals rhetorical strategies invoked by firms to legitimate their economic, environmental and social performance.

Research limitations/implications

This paper’s primary contribution is to research that informs the discursive aspects of legitimacy. As well, this study contributes to our nascent understanding of the microfoundations of sustainability.

Originality/value

Our knowledge of how organizations use different discursive strategies in support of legitimacy is relatively underdeveloped. By examining rhetorical strategies used in support of propriety judgments concerning organizations’ environmental, social and economic legitimacy, this study begins to fill gaps in our understanding.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-09-2019-0295
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

  • Sustainability
  • Discourse
  • Legitimacy
  • Strategy
  • Propriety

To view the access options for this content please click here
Article
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Understanding the impacts of Chinese business activity in Kenya from the perspective of locals: An exploratory field study

Charles Onjumi Okumu and Anthony Fee

The authors report a field study examining the perceptions of Kenyan host-country stakeholders toward activities of Chinese businesses in their country, and the…

HTML
PDF (407 KB)

Abstract

Purpose

The authors report a field study examining the perceptions of Kenyan host-country stakeholders toward activities of Chinese businesses in their country, and the consequences of this on the legitimacy that they bestow on pertinent entities.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews and observations across an eight-week period of field research revealed generally negative attitudes toward Chinese businesses, with issues pertinent to moral legitimacy prominent, notably, perceptions of corrupt practices, environmental neglect and profit expatriation.

Findings

The authors also find evidence that these negative attitudes spilled over to contaminate Kenyans’ perceptions of their own government, which respondents associated closely with the activities of Chinese entities.

Originality/value

The authors extend understanding of legitimacy theory and the implications of foreign business activity by highlighting that businesses may be mistaken to believe that their international business activities are politically neutral, and while host governments may believe that the economic benefits arising from attracting foreign business activity can buttress their legitimacy, the perceived activities of these businesses, in the absence of supporting institutional frameworks, may render this counterproductive.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-06-2019-0037
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

  • China
  • Foreign direct investment
  • Kenya
  • Legitimacy
  • Moral legitimacy
  • Pragmatic legitimacy
  • Foreign business activity
  • Cognitive legitimacy
  • Stakeholders

Access
Only content I have access to
Only Open Access
Year
  • Last week (26)
  • Last month (62)
  • Last 3 months (225)
  • Last 6 months (427)
  • Last 12 months (757)
  • All dates (7872)
Content type
  • Article (5157)
  • Book part (2410)
  • Earlycite article (256)
  • Case study (30)
  • Expert briefing (16)
  • Executive summary (3)
1 – 10 of over 7000
Emerald Publishing
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Services

  • Authors Opens in new window
  • Editors Opens in new window
  • Librarians Opens in new window
  • Researchers Opens in new window
  • Reviewers Opens in new window

About

  • About Emerald Opens in new window
  • Working for Emerald Opens in new window
  • Contact us Opens in new window
  • Publication sitemap

Policies and information

  • Privacy notice
  • Site policies
  • Modern Slavery Act Opens in new window
  • Chair of Trustees governance statement Opens in new window
  • COVID-19 policy Opens in new window
Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

  • Something didn’t work…

    Report bugs here

  • All feedback is valuable

    Please share your general feedback

  • Member of Emerald Engage?

    You can join in the discussion by joining the community or logging in here.
    You can also find out more about Emerald Engage.

Join us on our journey

  • Platform update page

    Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

  • Questions & More Information

    Answers to the most commonly asked questions here