Necessary Conditions for the Existence of Organizational Legitimacy

Year 2025, Issue: 71, 292 - 303, 27.06.2025

Francisco Diez Martin , Emilio Diez-de Castro , Ana Cruz Suárez , Camilo Prado Roman

https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2024-1555154

Abstract

Organizational legitimacy is a crucial factor for ensuring survival, securing resources, facilitating growth, and stabilizing the work environment. To achieve this, an organization must determine whether it currently possesses legitimacy or needs to take steps to attain it. This requires the use of measurement tools that enable effective evaluation. When scholars assess organizational legitimacy, they typically base their evaluation on audience perceptions. However, we argue that an organization either possesses or lacks legitimacy as an objective fact, grounded in its inherent properties. In this study, we propose a legitimacy framework that aligns with what a legitimate organization should exhibit. We analyze the foundational premises of organizational legitimacy and provide a roadmap for achieving it. Our position is that perceptions or sentiments are not the most reliable means of assessing an organization’s legitimacy, as they are inherently subjective and shaped by multiple variables that are difficult to quantify. We emphasize the need for a strong connection between intrinsic legitimacy—defined by its properties—and perceived legitimacy. We argue that the former constitutes a necessary condition, while the latter serves as a sufficient condition to ensure the coherence of organizational legitimacy.

Keywords

Organizational legitimacy, consistent legitimacy, legitimacy as a property, legitimacy as a perception, congruence

Ethical Statement

The author ensures that the work described has been conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. This article is a theoretical investigation. As such, it does not include a methodology section. The manuscript does not report studies involving human participants.

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