Purpose - This paper aims to examine the charismatic legitimacy of the organization Oatly, a vegan food brand, following the criticism from external stakeholders concerning Oatly’s new shareholder; the investment firm Blackstone Group. The study explores the views of young external stakeholders in regard to the statement Oatly issued in response to the criticism. The paper’s final purpose is to understand if Oatly is considered to be charismatically legitimate, and have established a charismatic legitimacy which protects them when facing criticism. Methodology - The theoretical framework of Conger and Kanungo (1998) charismatic leadership scale is adopted to analyze the views of young external stakeholders regarding Oatly’s response. Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches can reveal how stakeholders interpret Oatly’s statement. Findings - Stakeholders were critical of the investment, yet simultaneously perceived Oatly as charismatic. Oatly’s established charismatic legitimacy enables the organization to make decisions that stakeholders perceive as defying of Oatlys’s fundamental ideology. Research implications - The results have an impact on a societal level since it provides knowledge in regard to how organizations can use their established charismatic legitimacy to influence the public debate related to their actions. Originality/Value - The paper examines how consumer criticism affects the charismatic legitimacy of a vegan food brand through the lens of young external stakeholders. Furthermore, the study raises the importance of an established charismatic legitimacy for organizations when facing criticism concerning misalignments between the organization's actions and ideology. Keywords - Oatly, charismatic legitimacy, Weber, organizational external communication. Paper type - Research paper.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-437034 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Engström, Annie, Byrlind, Linda |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Medier och kommunikation, Uppsala universitet, Medier och kommunikation |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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