The Legitimacy of Inequality: Integrating the Perspectives of System Justification and Social Judgment : The Legitimacy of Inequality

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_34197F4968B3
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The Legitimacy of Inequality: Integrating the Perspectives of System Justification and Social Judgment : The Legitimacy of Inequality
Journal
Journal of Management Studies
Author(s)
Haack P., Sieweke J.
ISSN
0022-2380
Publication state
Published
Issued date
05/2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
55
Number
3
Pages
486-516
Language
english
Abstract
To explain the legitimation of inequality among the members of a social system, we blend system justification theory and the theory of social judgment. We identify adaptation and replacement as two major mechanisms of inequality legitimation and examine their influence in the unique setting of a natural experiment, the reunification of socialist East Germany and capitalist West Germany. We show that the new members of a society in which inequality is broadly endorsed and perceived as enduring will adapt to this perception and come to view inequality as acceptable. This process of adaptation reflects the subtle but powerful influence of collective legitimacy on an individual's tacit approval of inequality. Inequality also becomes legitimate as older cohorts are replaced by younger cohorts; however, this effect is weaker than the effect of adaptation. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating that developing and testing a theory of how inequality becomes legitimized can provide new insights into the ideational antecedents of inequality.
Keywords
Management of Technology and Innovation, Strategy and Management, Business and International Management, Management of Technology and Innovation, Strategy and Management, Business and International Management
Web of science
Create date
08/11/2017 10:25
Last modification date
20/08/2019 13:20
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