The Relationship between Image and Legitimacy in the Spanish Public University

The correct management of intangible assets such as image and legitimacy can be crucial for the survival and success of organizations given the current competitive landscape. These variables have been analyzed in the literature due to their importance. However, additional research is still needed in order to clarify the way in which they are related. Spanish public universities operate in a complex environment, competing for economic resources from the government as well as for talented students, prestigious professors and competent employees at the national and international level. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between image and legitimacy in the higher education context. For this purpose, a review of the literature regarding image and legitimacy will be carried out, followed by an analysis of the results obtained through a survey distributed to a variety of universities’ stakeholders (students, professors, administrative personnel, alumni and managers). To analyze the data, PLS SEM was used. The results confirm the proposed hypothesis regarding the influence that image has on legitimacy.