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Managing Institutional Complexity: A Longitudinal Study of Legitimacy Strategies at a Sportswear Brand Company

Author

Listed:
  • Dorothee Baumann-Pauly

    (NYU Stern School of Business)

  • Andreas Georg Scherer

    (University of Zurich)

  • Guido Palazzo

    (University of Lausanne)

Abstract

Multinational corporations are operating in complex business environments. They are confronted with contradictory institutional demands that often represent mutually incompatible expectations of various audiences. Managing these demands poses new organizational challenges for the corporation. Conducting an empirical case study at the sportswear manufacturer Puma, we explore how multinational corporations respond to institutional complexity and what legitimacy strategies they employ to maintain their license to operate. We draw on the literature on institutional theory, contingency theory, and organizational paradoxes. The results of our qualitative longitudinal study show that managing corporate legitimacy is a dynamic process in which corporations adapt organizational capacities, structures, and procedures.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothee Baumann-Pauly & Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo, 2016. "Managing Institutional Complexity: A Longitudinal Study of Legitimacy Strategies at a Sportswear Brand Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 31-51, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:137:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2532-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2532-x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ying Jiang & Xiaolong Xue & Weirui Xue, 2018. "Proactive Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance: Evidence from Chinese Energy Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Stefan Gröschl & Patricia Gabaldón & Tobias Hahn, 2019. "The Co-evolution of Leaders’ Cognitive Complexity and Corporate Sustainability: The Case of the CEO of Puma," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 741-762, March.
    4. Sonia S. Siraz & Björn Claes & Julio O. De Castro & Eero Vaara, 2023. "Theorizing the Grey Area between Legitimacy and Illegitimacy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 924-962, June.
    5. Liang Wang & Justin Tan, 2023. "Coevolution of Strategy, Innovation and Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(4), pages 711-721, September.
    6. Mortimer, Genevieve & Tura, Nina & Mortimer, Bruce & Busch, Timo, 2019. "Positioning sustainability to deal with complex systemsː From sustainability identity to sustainability outlook," WiSo-HH Working Paper Series 49, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, WISO Research Laboratory.
    7. Lluc Vila-Boix & Alicia Blanco-González & Giorgia Miotto & Felipe Hernández-Perlines, 2024. "The impact of social media advertising on brand’ legitimacy," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 2115-2138, September.
    8. Gizem ARAS BEGER, 2024. "How Competing Institutional Logics Affect Corporate Social Responsibility Benefits: the Mediating Role of Paradox Mindset and Multi-Stakeholders," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 1913-1951, March.
    9. Giorgia Miotto & Marc Polo López & Josep Rom Rodríguez, 2019. "Gender Equality and UN Sustainable Development Goals: Priorities and Correlations in the Top Business Schools’ Communication and Legitimation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Stephanie Schrage & Dirk Ulrich Gilbert, 2021. "Addressing Governance Gaps in Global Value Chains: Introducing a Systematic Typology," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 657-672, May.
    11. Tierney, Kieran D. & Oswald Karpen, Ingo & Westberg, Kate, 2022. "Brand meaning and institutional work: The light and dark sides of service employee practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 244-256.
    12. A. Rebecca Reuber & Anna Morgan-Thomas, 2019. "Communicating Moral Legitimacy in Controversial Industries: The Trade in Human Tissue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 49-63, January.
    13. Shuxin Zhong & Xiaoyang Zhao & Juan Song, 2023. "MNEs’ Ambidexterity Strategies and Moral Conflicts: The Case of Google in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(4), pages 781-796, September.
    14. Regany, Fatima & Benmecheddal, Ahmed & Belkhir, Meriam & Djelassi, Souad, 2021. "Conflicting coexistence of legitimation and delegitimation logics in a revived market: The case of a traditional clothing market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 438-449.

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