Increasing dispositional legitimacy: progressive legitimation dynamics in a trajectory of settlements

Journal article

By focusing on individual settlements rather than viewing them as part of a trajectory of change, prior research on institutional settlements has not fully captured the dynamics of longer-term institutional change. This is especially useful to better understand progressive legitimation dynamics; in other words, how successive settlements may increase legitimacy in a long-term trajectory of change. We argue this is a crucial issue for peripheral actors lacking the resources, status, or power of more central ones. Our historical analysis focuses on the long-term struggle of the Cree First Nation in Canada and explains how they succeeded in increasing their dispositional legitimacy in and through the settlements. This required work in three interrelated processes: expansive argumentation including problematizing of the state of affairs and creating discursive resonance with the prevailing discourses and values, building momentum by generating attention and exerting pressure in networks of actors, and seizing opportunities to negotiate with the other side. We challenge previous research on settlements by elucidating how they should not be merely seen as endpoints but rather as stepping-stones in a trajectory of institutional change. More specifically, we develop a process model explaining how progressive legitimation unfolds in a series of settlements.

Authors: Baba, S; Sasaki, I; Vaara, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Academy of Management
• Journal: Academy of Management Journal
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1927-1968
• Publication date: 2020-10-19
• Acceptance date: 2020-10-14
• DOI: 10.5465/amj.2017.0330
• ISSN: 0001-4273
• Language: English
• Keywords: theoretical perspectives; FFR; institutional theory