We develop a process model of organizational legitimizing in the context of controversies. Specifically, we combine Suchman’s legitimacy trichotomy and justification theory to explore proactive, reactive and restorative legitimizing under moral plurality. Doing so we show how the legitimacy trichotomy is interrelated and embedded in different moral spheres. Moral, cognitive and pragmatic legitimizing gel together at different stages of the controversy to form a cohesive strategy. By zooming in on the strategies of the actor whose legitimacy is on the line, we seek to establish organizational legitimizing as an important pillar in legitimacy research, complementing its recent insights on legitimacy judgements of individual evaluators. Our conceptualisations advance legitimacy research and offer useful implications for practitioners seeking to enhance their strategic management of controversies.
