The Issue Life-Cycle: Implications for Reputation for Social Performance and Organizational Legitimacy

Drawing on the issue life-cycle, corporate reputation, and organizational legitimacy literatures, this paper develops a theoretical model of how the evolution of the firm's performance in relation to an issue impacts the firm's reputation and legitimacy. It is argued that firms gain or lose in their reputation for social performance by respectively leading or lagging behind in the evolution of societal expectations concerning given issue. Also, that if firms lead or lag behind in the evolution of an issue beyond certain critical point, they lose organizational legitimacy. The paper concludes with a discussion of its research and managerial implications.