Looking the part : entrepreneurial growth through strategic legitimisation

Abstract

Entrepreneurial legitimacy and strategies employed to generate legitimacy are topical and pertinent to entrepreneurship. This study sought to understand the impact of formative stage strategic legitimisation employment on entrepreneurial success. Through a review of the literature, the study built a strategic legitimacy scale offering that allowed for historical empirical testing. Using non probability sampling, entrepreneurs were surveyed through a face-to-face questionnaire in an attempt to attain closed response data regarding their historical strategic legitimisation activities and growth indicators. The study provided empirical evidence for a positive relationship between formative stage strategic legitimisation employment and venture development. Furthermore the presence of exponential value returns against strategic legitimacy activities was exposed at low and moderate levels of legitimacy engagement. While volatile value returns were shown at high levels strategic legitimacy employment. Furthermore the effectiveness of formative stage strategic legitimacy activities was shown to not be effected by the maturity of the industry in which a venture started. Copyright