Increasing New Venture Legitimacy through Effective Framing Strategies

Abstract: Only 78.1% of started companies survive within the first five years. The liability of newness, which is the lack of different resources in new ventures, is a contributing factor to the difficulty of survival. This master thesis attempts to identify effective framing strategies that increase the legitimacy of new ventures. In order to do so, the authors combine the literature of previous research regarding framing and legitimacy, with empirical data generated from an autoethnography. The autoethnography was performed by one of the two authors who did an internship at a Swedish start-up for ten weeks. Several framing strategies have been used and identified. Additionally, two legitimacy acquirement strategies have been used and identified. Both of these strategies have been found to increase the legitimacy in the new venture. A conceptual model is also introduced which can be connected to the framing strategies and legitimacy acquirement strategies.