Topic
Legitimacy
About: Legitimacy is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26153 publications have been published within this topic receiving 565921 citations.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the legitimacy theory as an explicator for variability in environmental disclosure in the UK FTSE 100 companies and found that more than one company in a sector perceived a need to change disclosure behaviour at the same time.
Abstract: Environmental disclosures were recorded from the annual reports of a sample of ten UK FTSE 100 companies in five sectors between 1974 and 2000. ‘Environmental sensitivity’ was employed as a proxy for corporate vulnerability to environmental concern, and intra- and intersectoral differences were tested for in the belief that difference in industry response will signify differing perceptions on the need to provide voluntary disclosure and hence restore or maintain legitimacy. Intrasectoral agreements at given points in time were also taken to be evidence for legitimacy theory in that more than one company in a sector perceived a need to change disclosure behaviour at the same time. Legitimacy theory as an explicator for variability in environmental disclosure is supported. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
191 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that both conflict and functional theory point, at least implicitly, to the importance of the effect of unequal distribution of resources on the development of the self-constructing my argument through application of Mead' s theory of self to the case of stratification, which is compatible with several lines of theorizing in social psychology, including equity and status attribution theory.
Abstract: Stratified social orders are maintained through a wide variety of mechanisms, one being broad-based legitimation of the notion of unequal distribution of primary resources. My attempt to develop a set of propositions provides at least a partial explanation of how such legitimation is generated and maintained. I argue that both conflict and functional theory point, at least implicitly, to the importance of the effect of unequal distribution of resources on the development of the self-constructing my argument through application of Mead' s theory of the self to the case of stratification. This application is shown, in turn, to be compatible with several lines of theorizing in social psychology, including equity and status attribution theory. Once basic propositions are developed, I discuss ways in which major social institutions maintain legitimacy through their effect on the self and explore some possible sources of delegitimation.
191 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the changes in the code and discourses are translations of both the political challenges to the legitimacy of accountants and a wider transformation in the culture of American society, and that through this appeal the profession seeks to legitimize itself within the social realm.
Abstract: While the accounting profession in the U.S. has claimed to be a moral or ethical body throughout the twentieth century, its moral schema and code of ethics have in fact undergone a number of changes. This paper argues that the codes of ethics (or professional conduct), and the discourses surrounding them, appeal to meta narratives of legitimation and that through this appeal the profession seeks to legitimize itself within the social realm. The paper explores two distinct periods: the turn of the century, during which time the first code was formulated, and the 1980s when the current code was constructed. We seek to demonstrate that the changes in the code and discourses are translations of both the political challenges to the legitimacy of accountants and a wider transformation in the culture of American society.
191 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that dependence on an authority figure is positively associated with appraisals of legitimacy, measured in terms of trust and confidence in, empowerment of, and deference to authority.
190 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that the most powerful predictor of officers' confidence in their own authority is identification with their organization, itself strongly associated with perceptions of the procedural justice of senior management, and a greater sense of self-legitimacy is in turn linked to greater commitment to democratic modes of policing.
Abstract: When do police officers feel confident in their own authority? What factors influence their sense of their own legitimacy? What is the effect of such ‘self-legitimacy’ on the way they think about policing? This paper addresses these questions using a survey of police officers working in an English constabulary. We find that the most powerful predictor of officers’ confidence in their own authority is identification with their organization, itself something strongly associated with perceptions of the procedural justice of senior management. A greater sense of self-legitimacy is in turn linked to greater commitment to democratic modes of policing. Finally, we find that this sense of legitimacy is embedded in a matrix of identities and cultural adaptations within the police organization.
190 citations