Scoping Review of the Legitimation Strategies Used by Organizations Engaging in Unlawful Activities

This study explores the legitimation strategies employed by organizations engaging in criminal activities to influence public opinion about the legitimacy of these criminal activities. These discursive strategies are used to justify criminal actions, such as corruption, fraud, or violence, within broader organizational and cultural contexts. Often involving moral neutralization and moral licensing techniques, these strategies allow organizations engaged in criminal activities to present themselves and their actions as virtuous or justified. Although these strategies can result in societal harm by undermining public support for law enforcement, little is known about what types of legitimation strategies exist, how they differ, and how they influence public opinion. Hence, this scoping review identifies and categorizes the legitimation strategies used by organizations engaged in criminal activities. By conducting a scoping review of 21 empirical studies, a four-dimensional typology of 10 legitimation strategies is developed, clustered by their association with distinct types of legitimacy. The findings propose five mechanisms whereby legitimation strategies impact public opinion. Understanding these strategies and mechanisms is crucial for developing effective counter-strategies to delegitimize criminal actions and enhance societal resilience. This study advances the fragmented discourse on legitimation processes of specifically criminal actions employed by organizations, integrating findings from various disciplines to inform theory and practice.