Balancing "protective disguise" with "harmonious advocacy": social venture legitimation in authoritarian contexts

Abstract

This paper seeks to advance understanding of how new social ventures
can gain legitimacy in authoritarian contexts. Through a study of a new
disability rights organization in post-revolutionary Egypt, we theorize
how authoritarianism poses distinct challenges for social ventures that
require different legitimation strategies than those commonly reported in
the literature. Specifically, we use our case study to build a theoretical
model that suggests social ventures need to achieve optimal assimilation
by balancing protective disguise with harmonious advocacy. By explicitly
theorizing social venture legitimation in authoritarian contexts, we
advance the budding literature on social venture legitimation that has so
far predominantly considered legitimation in more democratic contexts.
Moreover, our study shows that organizational legitimacy may need to
be conceptualized differently when examining social ventures—and
indeed other forms of organization—in authoritarian regimes.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Isabel Neuberger: orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-4880

Catalogue record

Export record

Altmetrics