Call for papers

3^rd International Workshop on Organizational Legitimacy

“The State of the Art in Legitimacy Research: Theory and Application”

15-16 May 2025 – emlyon business school, Lyon, France

Call for Papers

The 3rd Annual Organizational Legitimacy Workshop builds on the legacy of the first two workshops: the inaugural event at the University of Lausanne in 2023 and the second workshop at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2024.

Purpose and Theme

The theme of this workshop is “The State of the Art in Legitimacy Research: Theory and Application”. Legitimacy remains a fundamental concept in management scholarship for the far-reaching implications that it holds for social exchange and organizational survival. Recent research has made important strides in advancing legitimacy research in the areas of entrepreneurial endeavors (Alvarez, Newman, Barney, & Plomaritis, 2021; Überbacher, 2014), new states of legitimacy on the legitimacy-illegitimacy continuum and the dynamics of legitimacy judgment formation and change (Claes, Siraz, De Castro, & Lapeyre, 2024; Siraz, Claes, De Castro, & Vaara, 2023), multilevel approaches to legitimacy (Bitektine & Haack, 2015; Haack, Schilke, & Zucker, 2021), communication and legitimation strategies (Clarke & Cornelissen, 2011; Vaara, Aranda, & Etchanchu, 2024), public management and political psychology (Jasinenko, Christandl, & Meynhardt, 2020; Sievert & Bruder, 2024), operationalizing and measuring legitimacy (Illia, Colleoni, Etter, & Meggiorin, 2023; Schoon, 2022; van den Broek, Langley, Ehrenhard, & Groen, 2023), diversity, equality, and inclusion (Bruton, Lewis, Lopez, & Chapman, 2023; De Castro, Khavul, & Bruton, 2014) amongst others.

Given the richness of these new insights, this workshop seeks to deepen theoretical perspectives and expand empirical applications across the management field. It provides a platform for developmental feedback and fosters a vibrant cross-disciplinary research community. These efforts collectively contribute to shaping the future research agenda on legitimacy in management and organization theory.

We encourage submissions covering any aspect of the legitimacy-research spectrum, including (but not limited to):

• Dynamics of legitimacy judgment formation and change
• (De)Legitimation strategies
• Multilevel approaches to legitimacy
• States of legitimacy on the legitimacy-illegitimacy continuum
• Operationalizing and measuring legitimacy
• Legitimacy of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial endeavors
• External and internal legitimacy struggles within organizations
• Legitimation through sustainable resourcing and supply chains
• CSR, legitimacy states, and legitimation
• Theoretical and empirical advances in legitimacy research

The workshop will feature presentations and roundtable facilitation by international experts. Early-career scholars such as Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, and tenure-track assistant professors are particularly encouraged to apply though scholars further along in their careers are also welcome to submit their work. The goal is to foster idea exchange, feedback, and networking opportunities.

Participation, Program, and Fees

The workshop will take place from 15-16 May 2025. There is no registration or participation fee for the workshop, and catering including the gala dinner will be offered. However, space is limited to 50 participants.

References:

Alvarez, S., Newman, A. B., Barney, J., & Plomaritis, A. 2021. Creating stakeholder legitimacy in the eyes of stakeholders: The case of Havana’s paladares. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice: 10422587211020673.

Bitektine, A., & Haack, P. 2015. The “macro” and the “micro” of legitimacy: Toward a multilevel theory of the legitimacy process. Academy of Management Review, 40(1): 49-75.

Bruton, G., Lewis, A., Lopez, J., & Chapman, K. 2023. A racialized view of entrepreneurship: A review and proposal for future Research. Academy of Management Annals, 17(2): 492-515.

Claes, B., Siraz, S. S., De Castro, J., & Lapeyre, E. M. 2024. What is the quack about? Legitimation strategies and their perceived appropriateness in the foie gras industry. (in press) European Management Review.

Clarke, J., & Cornelissen, J. 2011. Language, communication, and socially situated cognition in entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Review, 36(4): 776-778.

De Castro, J. O., Khavul, S., & Bruton, G. D. 2014. Shades of grey: how do informal firms navigate between macro and meso institutional environments? Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 8(1): 75-94.

Haack, P., Schilke, O., & Zucker, L. 2021. Legitimacy revisited: disentangling propriety, validity, and consensus. Journal of Management Studies, 58(3): 749-781.

Illia, L., Colleoni, E., Etter, M., & Meggiorin, K. 2023. Finding the tipping point: When heterogeneous evaluations in social media converge and influence organizational legitimacy. Business & Society, 62(1): 117-150.

Jasinenko, A., Christandl, F., & Meynhardt, T. 2020. Justified by ideology: Why conservatives care less about corporate social irresponsibility. Journal of Business Research, 114: 290-303.

Schoon, E. W. 2022. Operationalizing legitimacy. American Sociological Review, 87(3): 478-503.

Sievert, M., & Bruder, J. 2024. Unpacking the effects of burdensome state actions on citizens’ policy perceptions. Public Administration, 102(3): 915-935.

Siraz, S. S., Claes, B., De Castro, J. O., & Vaara, E. 2023. Theorizing the grey area between legitimacy and illegitimacy. Journal of Management Studies, 60(4): 924-962.

Überbacher, F. 2014. Legitimation of new ventures: A review and research programme. Journal of Management Studies, 51(4): 667-698.

Vaara, E., Aranda, A. M., & Etchanchu, H. 2024. Discursive legitimation: An integrative theoretical framework and agenda for future research. (in press) Journal of Management.

van den Broek, T., Langley, D. J., Ehrenhard, M. L., & Groen, A. 2023. When do evaluators publicly express their legitimacy judgments? An inquiry into the role of peer endorsement and evaluative mode. Organization Science, 34(6): 2143-2162. 

Venue

The event will be held at emlyon business school, Lyon, France. The campus is conveniently located and easily accessible by public transportation.

About emlyon business school

Founded in 1872 by the Lyon Chamber of Commerce, emlyon business school has an enrollment of over 9,260 students of 130 nationalities across four campuses worldwide (Lyon, Shanghai, Paris, and Mumbai). The School relies on a Faculty of 170 internationally recognized professors and researchers, and a network of 222 global academic partners, to provide learning tracks of academic excellence open to the world. The school runs a community of 45,000 alumni spread over 130 countries. As a benefit corporation (société à mission) emlyon aims to “train and support informed leaders, throughout their lives, who are able to transform organizations efficiently for a fairer society and with greater solidarity and respect for the planet”. The School’s pedagogy closely links action and reflection. Skill hybridization and social responsibility are also at the heart of its training programs, where the best of both socioeconomic and academic worlds meet. The strategic plan, “Resonances 2028”, reaffirms the importance of the “maker spirit” that has been the DNA of emlyon since its creation. The plan is built around the five qualities expected of “makers”, emlyon students and alumni, to become entrepreneurs of change, namely: academic excellence; entrepreneurial spirit; engagement; hybrid knowledge; resonance with society.