Sources of institutional pressure: reflections on legitimacy in the Brazilian hotel industry

Abstract

The rules and regulations created and consolidated in society make up a set of institutional forces that press organizations seek legitimacy in their industry (Oliver, 1988; Deephouse, 1996). Although the literature has dismissed efforts to identify the forces that contribute to the isomorphism of the organizations belonging to the service sector, such as hospitals and social services, there are still gaps to be filled specifically as it relates to the hospitality industry. In this sense, the aim of this study has centered on establishing reflections on the legitimacy in the hotel industry and the factors that determine its occurrence. Methodologically, we raise the seminal studies and recent contributions on institutional theory and strategy in hospitality. Conclusively, our premises that the main sources of institutional legitimacy of hospitality organizations, the use of managerial and technical expertise, the abide by legal requisites – imperative and optional – and the imitation organizational success, in fact originate, circumstantially, from one or from the combination of the above mentioned forces.