The Origin of the Legitimacy of Organizations and Their Determining Factors

Abstract

The aim of this research consists in analysing to what extent personal characteristics have an influence on the assessment process of organizational legitimacy. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used which examines the effect of five personal characteristics on four types of legitimacy. Subsequently, regression analysis was applied on a sample of 258 individuals. The results have shown that the persons with higher social awareness are more prone to make decisions about organizations taking into account the moral, regulatory and cognitive legitimacy. This type of assessment also occurs when the fear of receiving a social sanction increases. Likewise in the perception of a higher economic risk inherent to the result of a decision, people are more likely to make decisions based on cognitive and pragmatic legitimacy. Future research projects may confirm if the results of this investigation are repeated among different activity sectors and different sociodemographic environments. Accordingly, it would be possible to design a conceptual framework where the legitimacy preferences of interest groups are explained by sectors and personal characteristics. The results of this study extend the knowledge in the field of Institutional Theory about the origin of organizational legitimacy and the causes which condition it. It also facilitates improving the strategic planning of organizations by displaying the legitimacy preferences based on each person’s profile.