Signalling legitimacy for SMEs transition environments - the case of the Bulgarian IT Sector

Olga Ivanova Ruffo (1, 2) , Sylvaine Castellano (3)

1 ICN Business School
2 CEREFIGE - Centre Européen de Recherche en Economie Financière et Gestion des Entreprises
3 ESG Management School

This research looks at legitimacy challenges of SMEs evolving in transition environments. Facing lower visibility,higher institutional pressures and limited resources,SMEs experience stronger need to demonstrate their legitimacy,their adherence to the requirements of evaluating audiences. Two types of legitimacy are discussed - functional and relational - that better capture the legitimacy needs of SMEs in transitional contexts. Being multi-dimensional constructs,their dimensions are identified,and measurements are proposed and tested using the structural equation modelling technique. The model was tested on data from the Bulgarian IT sector.

Mots clés: signalling theory; organisational legitimacy; transition environment; SMEs

Domaines: Gestion et management

Olga Ivanova Ruffo, Sylvaine Castellano. Signalling legitimacy for SMEs transition environments - the case of the Bulgarian IT Sector. Journal for East European Management Studies, 2012, 17 (4), pp.398-422. ⟨10.5771/0949-6181-2012-4-398⟩. ⟨hal-01514815⟩