The Psychology of Legitimacy: Emerging Perspectives on Ideology, Justice, and Intergroup Relations - Book Review

Administrative Science Quarterly, Sept, 2002 by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne

In chapter 14, Spears, Jetten, and Doosje argue that members of low-status groups are more likely to accept their own inferiority and express outgroup favoritism when there is a well-established social reality identifying the separation in status. Conversely, the authors argue that when this "social reality" is in question, low-status groups will reject their inferiority and feel legitimate in displaying ingroup favoritism. In a similar study in chapter 15, from the perspective of social justification theory, Jost, Burgess, and Mosso argue that members of low-status groups are saddled with a troubling choice between supporting their own social mobility, and therefore an unjust system, or supporting their own group.

The last, and most relevant section for ASQ readers focuses specifically on organizational perspectives on legitimation. In chapter 16, building on Tyler's (1990) work on procedural justice, Elsbach identifies what type of verbal explanations are necessary to protect perceptions of organizational legitimacy after a legitimacy-threatening event. Drawing on a case study of public relations mistakes at Sears Auto Centers, Elsbach argues that when organizations are in a position of defending decisions that lead to unforeseeable deleterious outcomes, they should communicate the rationality of their decision-making process, but when the organization is forced to explain negative outcomes that the public views as foreseeable, they ought to communicate consideration and sincere regret. Tyler then summarizes a great deal of his own work on procedural justice in chapter 17, arguing that perceptions of legitimacy are driven more by fair treatment than by distributive concerns over resources. Most interestingly, Tyler ar gues that because most people want to develop and maintain a sense of identity, their relationship with organizations is based less on distributive concerns of how much of the "slice of the pie" the organization allocates, and more on the maintenance of their group-based social identity. Lastly, in chapter 18, Jackman explores how violence is used to maintain unjust social systems.

In the end, this is a fine book. The chapters clearly demonstrate the importance of understanding the psychological processes of legitimacy and provide fresh insights for organizational theorists to build upon. While the collection as a whole does not provide significant practical guidelines for overcoming psychological and institutional sources of inequality, many insights and future research questions can be drawn from the chapters' conclusions. A future research question could be whether the few upper-level positions held by minorities in corporations demonstrate a commitment to the advancement of all classes, based on their performance and knowledge, or perfunctory token advancements to silence potential criticism. Likewise, it may be fruitful to follow up on the insight that members of legitimate groups in organizations tend to defend the status quo and discount challengers of the status quo more than vice versa. Because many of the world's largest companies have recently been overtaken and marginalized by a new set of revisionist companies that have challenged the status quo, like CNN versus CBS, NBC, and ABC, this chapter could provide a strong theoretical lens to examine and make sense of this growing phenomenon. Overall, this book is exhaustively researched and referenced and, as a whole, creates a substantial foundation for future research.