Alicia Blanco-González

Beyond legitimacy: legitimacy types and organizational success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify and extend knowledge concerning the relationship between legitimacy and organizational success within the framework of institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach – While previous research has found links between legitimacy and organizational success, the authors test this assumption by case analysis, on a sample of thirteen Spanish Mutual Guarantee Societies. Data were collected from survey questionnaire and Annual Financial Reports. Findings – Results of the empirical examination confirm that, within this population, organizations with greater legitimacy obtain better organizational results as well as improved access to resources. The findings also show that not all dimensions of legitimacy contribute equally to organizational success. Practical implications – For managers, the authors have included a recommendation that legitimacy is an important element of an organizations success that must be strategically managed and be considered as a require...

Building a European Legitimacy Index

This article outlines an approach to building a country-level legitimacy index designed specifically for European Union member states. The index allows intercountry as well as longitudinal comparisons. Changes over time reflect varying levels of confidence in the political system and may serve as leading indicators for differences in the economic, social, and political stability of member states. Source data for the index are derived from the European Social Survey, taken between 2002 and 2012 in 35 countries. The index is built around three dimensions (legality, justification, and consent). Results from the index vary among member states but, overall, show a tendency toward diminishing legitimacy. Citizens trust their police forces and laws, but are dissatisfied with institutions and the economy. Moreover, they feel increasing distance from their leaders, their representative bodies, and the effectiveness of political institutions. These trends highlight the need for public–private efforts to increase the legitimacy of European Union member states.

The EFQM Model as an Instrument to Legitimise Organisations

The number of studies to have shown the importance of legitimacy for organisations is growing. Legitimacy has become a key factor for organisations to survive and grow. Numerous mechanisms exist for acquiring legitimacy. Their implementation involves engaging in actions that conform to what is expected of an institution. This study aims to highlight the effect of management excellence, in compliance with the EFQM model, on the legitimacy of organisations. The principles of excellence, as established by this model, are consistent with what is expected of an institution. The general hypothesis is that organisations with a higher level of excellence show greater legitimacy. To achieve this objective, this study analyses the relationship between the excellence of 23 schools in the region of Madrid and their legitimacy. Results suggest that the EFQM management excellence model is a useful tool and guide to steer the process of institutionalisation and the achievement of legitimacy. Results also suggest implications in the field of institutional theory.

Youth Entrepreneurship and Crisis in the Health, Beauty and Sport Sectors

The objective of this study is to analyse the profiles of young Spanish entrepreneurs, the main reasons driving them to engage in entrepreneurial activities and the obstacles they encounter in three specific sectors: health, beauty and sport. To this end, a survey was produced and circulated among young Spanish entrepreneurs belonging to the principal young entrepreneur associations in Spain. The results have made it possible to determine the profiles of young Spanish entrepreneurs in these three sectors, their principal motivations and the obstacles they have encountered, as well as to provide further information about this significant group.

Bibliometric Analysis on Customer Dissatisfaction

This research analyzes the consumer’s dissatisfaction regarding any possible failure made by brands or companies. In order to do this, the behavior, feelings, and negative and even aggressive behavior that costumers can have towards a company, product or brand are thoroughly studied. It is a relatively unexplored research field within the academic literature, in spite of being a subject of great repercussion or relevance at the present time. For this purpose, a study on bibliometric analysis has been carried out to verify the degree of relevance of this topic in the scientific field, discovering who are the authorities of the same, the life cycle of the articles on this subject, the articles keywords or their connections. With all this, we can deepen the academic literature, establish the knowledge structure in this area and propose future empirical research lines.

State Legitimacy in France as a Determinant of Competitiveness and Social Innovation

The state legitimacy is the degree of citizen support to their state and a key of competitiveness and economical and social development. This research analyzes the level of state legitimacy across the belongingness to groups of population because the citizens can give different legitimacy scores to the State. It introduces the state legitimacy in France and its segmentation variables such as nationality, age, religion or political ideology. Source data for this study is derived from the last round of European Social Survey (ESS) for France in 2014. With a sample of 1.917 citizens it is proved that political ideology, age, political interest or affective state determine different scores in the state legitimacy. These results are relevant for government since it can establish which are the most sensitive groups and develop effective social politics and communication campaigns. The objective of the state is obtaining the trust within its institutions and citizen satisfaction, and besides an analysis depending on the membership group offers detailed information. Moreover, the management of the legitimacy guarantees the stability and quality of the institutions that is a precursor to social innovation.

Political Segmentation of State Legitimacy: The Case of Spain

The state legitimacy is the degree of citizen support to its institutions. However, does every citizen of the country give the same legitimacy scores to the State? Is there any political variable that determines significant differences? In this sense, this research introduces political segmentation variables of state legitimacy such as political interest, political representativeness, political ideology, national identity, or behavioral control. Source data for this study is derived from the last round of European Social Survey (ESS) for Spain in 2014. With a sample of 1.925 citizens, it is proved that political variables have influence in state legitimacy and determine different scores in this metric. These results are very relevant for government because it can establish which are the most sensitive groups and develop effective social politics and communication campaigns. Moreover, the final objective of the state is obtaining the trust within its institutions and the citizen satisfaction, and an analysis depending on the membership group offers more detailed information.

Informal Economy and Legitimacy. The Spanish Case

The existence of an informal economy is a phenomenon that affects all countries. The amount of the informal economy in Spain in 2013 was estimated to be 196,000 euro millions (18.6% of the gross domestic product; GDP). Although there are several academic studies about the informal economy and its scope, definition, quantification, and positive and negative impacts, the methods used to reduce the impact of the informal economy are not sufficient, and there is an increasing gap between government administration measures and public opinion. For this reason, before adopting a measure to combat the informal economy, it is necessary to analyze the legitimacy of the measure. Lack of, or inadequate, legitimacy means that the measure does not accord with social norms and values, and this could lead to its failure. We carried out research to rationally search for solutions that would end the existence of the informal economy; the research employed previous analyses of the legitimacy of the problem, the effectiveness of measures to combat it, and the relationship between legitimacy and effectiveness. To meet this objective, an empirical online study was carried out between November 2013 and January 2014, via questionnaire; the questionnaire was answered by 745 people and the data were statistically analyzed.

The Origin of the Legitimacy of Organizations and Their Determining Factors

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.

Organizational Legitimacy Research: Contributing Countries and Institutions from 1995 to 2014

Organizational legitimacy has raised great concern in management research; however, no bibliometric studies have been conducted in this field. The aim of this paper is to show the structure formed by the countries and institutions that contribute to research on organizational legitimacy. The development and evolution of organizational legitimacy as a field of study is shown through a bibliometric study in four 5-year periods (from 1995 to 2014). The results provide information on the main countries and institutions that contribute to research in the field of organizational legitimacy, the lines of research that have been developed and who share them, how legitimacy research between countries and institutions is related, which countries and institutions represent real turning points in this field and how the dissemination of organizational legitimacy research between countries and institutions has evolved. In general, this paper shows how since the beginning of research on the concept of legitimacy applied to organizations and the countries that have generated the highest frequency of citations are the USA, Canada, England and Australia, followed later by China, the Netherlands, France and Spain, while the institutions with the most significant frequencies are Univ. of Alberta, Penn State Univ., Harvard Univ., Warwick Univ., York Univ. and Erasmus Univ. This study provides a comprehensive review of the contributors to the discipline of organizational legitimacy, different schools and lines of research, as well as a starting point for future researchers to continue to build a solid theoretical base.