Legitimacy Foundations

Abstract This chapter examines the burgeoning scholarship on legitimacy and briefly summarises the intellectual trajectory of this important concept. It discusses current conversations in legitimacy research and suggests future research directions that are necessary not only to advance scholarship on organisational legitimacy but also to inform the broader field of organisational social evaluations. It recommends that scholars build richer connections between levels of analysis both theoretically and empirically, expanding on the multilevel perspective on legitimacy that has developed rich linkages between societal and individual levels. Recognising that one of the most important research frontiers in the next decade is empirical in nature, the chapter also develop methodological recommendations, specifically for the development of instruments to measure individual-level legitimacy, the aggregation of individual-level measures into collective-level legitimacy, and the behavioural implications of legitimacy judgements.