For citation:
Starshov, E. D., & Fefelov, D. L. (2024). Legitimacy of Multinational Enterprises: Systematic Review and Research Agenda. AlterEconomics, 21(2), 320–344. https://doi.org/10.31063/AlterEconomics/2024.21-2.9
Abstract:
Despite the growing academic interest in organizational legitimacy in the field of international business, the application of this concept varies widely. Our systematic literature review covers studies on legitimacy from the perspective of multinational enterprises (MNEs) over the past thirty years since the concept was introduced in the field. Our review comprises 72 articles from high-rated journals, which allows us to categorize the extant literature into various strands of research, discuss the evolutionary waves of research on MNE legitimacy, and provide directions for future inquiry. Additionally, we contribute by developing an integrative framework that offers a comprehensive understanding of the state-of-the-art theory on MNE legitimacy. We conclude that since the emergence of the concept, interest in it has grown across various management areas. Furthermore, while early research predominantly relied on institutional theory, the second wave saw a significant expansion of theoretical frameworks. In recent years, there has been an increase in articles addressing themes of ESG reporting and corporate social responsibility. Geographically, there is a noticeable increase in studies dedicated to emerging markets and MNEs from these countries. Besides systematizing knowledge, we contribute to the theory of international business by developing a comprehensive theoretical framework that reviews the antecedents for MNEs and their subsidiaries to acquire legitimacy, as well as the complexities and consequences of this process.
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