Organizational Legitimacy and the Strategic Bridging Ability of Green Alliances

Alliances with environmental non-governmental organizations may benefit multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in developing countries where uncertain socio-cultural and institutional conditions present higher investment risks. Such green alliances can provide strategic bridging services by interceding between MNCs and distant, yet important, stakeholders. From an institutional perspective, strategic bridging success may depend on stakeholder perceptions of alliance legitimacy. In this study the relationship between alliance legitimacy and strategic bridging ability is explored through the case of the Turtle Village Trust in Trinidad and Tobago. Findings suggest that bridging success occurs when organizational legitimacy peaks; that new alliance partners temporarily weaken legitimacy; and bridging with every new targeted stakeholder requires continued acquisition of legitimacy based on their respective values. MNC decisions to form alliances that bridge targeted stakeholders on their behalf should therefore consider the potential of the alliance to acquire and accumulate organizational legitimacy without which strategic bridging efforts may be futile. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.