Legitimizing Innovative Ventures Strategically – the Case of Europe's First Online Pharmacy

Organizational legitimacy is a key resource that is necessary for every venture to acquire other crucial resources, which will subsequently stimulate growth. We illustrate this legitimacy-growth relationship by analyzing the case of Europe's first online pharmacy DocMorris. Given that this ICT venture started as extremely illegitimate, this case provides a rich background to identify various strategies that are potentially helpful to enhance a venture's level of legitimacy. Building on interview data collected from the firm's key actors, we are able to show how the perception of a firm's legitimacy from the viewpoint of various internal and external stakeholders can be managed strategically