#FeesMustFall# movement in the post-apartheid era: legitimacy battle for leaders

du Plessis, Linda and Bui, Hong T. M. (2023) #FeesMustFall# movement in the post-apartheid era: legitimacy battle for leaders. Journal of Organizational Change Management. ISSN ISSN: 0953-4814

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Abstract

Purpose
Underpinned by institutional legitimacy, this study explores how South African public university senior managers struggled to maintain legitimacy during an unplanned radical change process.

Design/methodology/approach
Gioia's grounded theory analysis approach is employed to analyse interviews with 37 senior managers of public-funded universities in South Africa.

Findings
This study's findings show that a change without proper planning severely damages institutions in all aspects of leadership's normative, empirical, moral and pragmatic legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature on legitimacy by illustrating the importance of institutional legitimacy during unplanned social change and the factors that negate legitimacy.

Originality/value
Though other legitimacy models have been well developed, they do not apply to such unplanned social change in organisations. This study shows a different angle of the legitimacy crisis under unplanned social change conditions.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1108/JOCM-11-2022-0338
Dates:	Date Event 27 June 2023 Accepted 14 July 2023 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Legitimacy, unplanned change, crisis, #FeesMustFall#, Social movement, Senior managers
Subjects:	CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-04 - management studies
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Accountancy, Finance and Economics Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Business, Digital Transformation & Entrepreneurship
Depositing User:	Hong Bui
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2023 11:01
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2024 12:05
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14607

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