THE DOUBLE-EDGE OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEGITIMATION

被引:1201
作者
Ashforth, Blake E. [1 ]
Gibbs, Barrie W. [2 ]
机构
[1] Concordia Univ, Dept Management, Montreal, PQ H3G 1M8, Canada
[2] Simon Fraser Univ, Fac Business Adm, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
关键词
LEGITIMACY; SYMBOLIC MANAGEMENT; VICIOUS CIRCLES;
D O I
10.1287/orsc.1.2.177
中图分类号
C93 [管理学];
学科分类号
12 ; 1201 ; 1202 ; 120202 ;
摘要
Organizations require legitimacy to attract constituents' support Legitimacy, however, is always problematic Thus, organizations frequently pursue legitimacy through a variety of substantive and symbolic practices But legitimacy is a social Judgment that is ultimately accorded the organization by its constituents Organizations that pursue this judgment run the risk of "protesting too much" of being perceived as precistly the opposite, manipulative and illegitimate Such organizations include (1) the clumsy actor, perceived as unethical, heavy-handed, or insensitive, (2) the nervous actor, perceived as dogmatic, intolerant, or evasive, and (3) the overacting actor, perceived to overstate claims to legitimacy or overreact to faults The analysis suggests that attempts to increase legitimacy may trigger a series of vicious circles which ultimately decrease legitimacy.
引用
收藏
页码:177 / 194
页数:18
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