Effects of Boundary Spanning Communication on the Sociopolitical Delegitimation of an Organization

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Abstract
Based on recent developments in the institutional literature on organization/environment relations, this study explores the relationship between the boundary spanning communication of individual organization members and organizational legitimacy. The research examined this topic in the context of a specific case of organizational conflict between two individual members of the same organization: the head of one of New York State's largest agencies and a dissenting member of that organization's professional staff. Public disagreement between these organization members resulted in substantial opposition to the agency head—a reflection of organizational delegitimation—from an external political coalition. Responding to the primary research question posed in the study, analysis of interview and survey data revealed that perceptions regarding the nature of the boundary spanning communication of the agency head and the staff scientist contributed importantly to the sociopolitical delegitimation of the organization.