Open AccessThe Iterative Process of Legitimacy-Building in Hybrid Organizations
Author(s) -
Christian Rosser,
Sabrina Alexa Ilgenstein,
Fritz Sager
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
administration and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.982
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1552-3039
pISSN - 0095-3997
DOI - 10.1177/00953997211055102
Subject(s) - legitimacy , normative , hybridity , process (computing) , value (mathematics) , face (sociological concept) , sociology , political science , public relations , computer science , social science , law , politics , machine learning , anthropology , operating system
Hybrid organizations face the fundamental challenge of building legitimacy. To deal with this challenge in administrative theory and practice, we apply an analytical framework following an organizational logic of legitimacy building to an exemplary case of hybridity—the Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine. Our framework application illustrates that pragmatic legitimacy (i.e., establishing instrumental value) must be built before moral legitimacy (i.e., fostering normative evaluation) and cognitive legitimacy (i.e., creating comprehensibility), followed by an iterative process of mutual influence between the legitimacy forms. Originating in the management literature, the framework promises new insights for public administration research on hybrids.