Inequality, corporate legitimacy and the Occupy Wall Street movement

This exploratory study examines legitimacy challenges to business spawned by growing inequalities. It uses aesthetic inquiry in the context of the Occupy Wall Street movement to understand the processes of organizational legitimation and delegitimation. By studying photos of slogans and placards fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human relations (New York) 2015-07, Vol.68 (7), p.1209-1231
Main Authors: Shrivastava, Paul, Ivanova, Olga
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
Business administration
Demonstrations & protests
Humanities and Social Sciences
Inequality
Legitimacy
Norms
Social activism
Studies
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Summary:This exploratory study examines legitimacy challenges to business spawned by growing inequalities. It uses aesthetic inquiry in the context of the Occupy Wall Street movement to understand the processes of organizational legitimation and delegitimation. By studying photos of slogans and placards from the Occupy Wall Street movement, we show how corporate and business legitimacy are challenged by the public. We identify different types of legitimacy challenges across organizational systems’ levels. We explore implications of these challenges for corporations and the use of aesthetic strategies as delegitimation signals by Occupy Wall Street protesters in order to express their support or discontent with existing norms, values and standards.
ISSN:0018-7267
1741-282X
DOI:10.1177/0018726715579523