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Contentious Legitimacy: Professional Association and Density Dependence in the Dutch Audit Industry 1884-1939

Author

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  • Bogaert, Sandy

    (U Antwerp)

  • Boone, Christophe
  • Carroll, Glenn R.

    (Stanford U)

Abstract

Neo-institutionalists have criticized organizational ecology's density-dependent theory of legitimation for being a "black box" leaving the details of the legitimation process unspecified, and ignoring the pre-eminently political nature of the creation of new organizational forms. In the present paper, we show that Hannan, Polos and Carroll's (2007) revised density theory, which explicitly incorporates firm heterogeneity, allows for the integration of institutional reasoning and collective action in a density-dependent quantitative framework. Based on this theory, we derive predictions about "fuzzy" density and population contrast and test them in the Dutch audit industry, a setting where the legitimation process was fiercely contested by several professional associations for decades in the period 1884-1939. Models of audit firm exit provide strong evidence for the salience of the revised theory in understanding the legitimation process and reveal that fuzziness, resulting from fragmented collective action, hampers it.

Suggested Citation

  • Bogaert, Sandy & Boone, Christophe & Carroll, Glenn R., 2006. "Contentious Legitimacy: Professional Association and Density Dependence in the Dutch Audit Industry 1884-1939," Research Papers 1944, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1944
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. BOONE, Christophe & WEZEL, Filippo Carlo & VAN WITTELOOSTUIJN, Arjen, 2006. "An ecological theory of population-level organizational diversity," Working Papers 2007003, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    2. Brocheler, Vera & Maijoor, Steven & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 2004. "Auditor human capital and audit firm survival: The Dutch audit industry in 1930-1992," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 627-646, October.
    3. Gino Cattani & Johannes M. Pennings & Filippo Carlo Wezel, 2003. "Spatial and Temporal Heterogeneity in Founding Patterns," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(6), pages 670-685, December.
    4. Boone, Christophe & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 1996. "Industry Competition and Firm Human Capital," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 8(5), pages 347-364, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Oertel, Simon, 2014. "Density imprints and organisations’ survival chances: a question of organisational ancestors," Journal of East European Management Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 19(1), pages 81-105.

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