In search of rigor relevance and legitimacy wha

Authors: Miriam Flickinger Anja Tuschke Tina GruberMuecke Marina Fiedler

Publish Date: 2013/09/07

Volume: 84, Issue: 1, Pages: 99-128

PDF Link

Abstract

In this study we introduce the concept of legitimacy to the rigorrelevance debate and investigate empirically how rigor relevance and legitimacy are related to the process of knowledge dissemination within a research field We argue that this analysis has been a missing piece in the debate on rigor and relevance when institutional logics about what constitutes both elements lead researchers to act according to what they perceive to be appropriate behavior in the research field We draw on insights from the micro and macro levels of institutional theory to show how researchers aiming to bestow legitimacy on their own work conform to these “rules of the game” Using metaanalytical techniques we focus on the field of strategic entrepreneurship and analyze how rigor and relevancerelated characteristics of studies in this field are linked to their legitimacy and therefore to the impact they have in the research community

Keywords: