Hybrid Legitimation Strategies for Managing the Same Legitimacy Gap in the Coffee Industry

Abstract

Organizations in controversial industries face growing institutional pressures that challenge their organizational legitimacy. They typically respond to these pressures through implementing legitimation strategies to gain, maintain, or repair legitimacy. A developing challenge to legitimacy in the coffee industry is the issue of using non-reusable and -recyclable materials, particularly as stakeholders are becoming more aware of plastic wastage that results from distribution of single-use cups. This legitimacy challenge in the coffee industry has been observed within this study, by investigating how organizations in the industry are managing their legitimacy in response to societal concerns relating to their contribution on waste and pollution. To address this a qualitative study was conducted, through empirical work with both independent coffee vendors in the United Kingdom (UK) and large-multinational coffee chains. The findings indicate a hybridization of different legitimation strategies used in response to the issues relating to disposable coffee cup use. The findings contribute to existing legitimacy literature by highlighting a potential hybridization of different legitimation strategies, in this case contributing to our understanding of the legitimacy management of both independent businesses and larger corporates in response to the same legitimacy gap.