ABB’s use of group responsibility for legitimation, a historical analysis

Purpose This paper aims to address how promises of autonomy and responsibility to subsidiaries were used for legitimation, and how the international business (IB) research contributed to the legitimation of multinationals, by highlighting the role of subsidiaries and prospects of group responsibility for subsidiaries. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses historical methods to do an in-depth study of the legitimation of the ABB merger in 1987, as well as the ABB merger in Norway. The sources for this study are gathered from ABB’s company archives in Norway and Sweden, numerous interviews with people working in ABB (Norway) and the media. Findings First, the paper demonstrates that the promise of group responsibility was the main form of legitimation for ABB and its predecessors. Second, it shows that IB scholars’ reconceptualization of multinationals from the 1980s played into ABB’s legitimation strategies. Third, ABB’s promises of group responsibility were not sincere, and much of the IB research on ABB was normative. It states that some IB scholars are not sufficiently reflexive about the relationship between their scholarship and legitimizing rhetoric from multinationals. It suggests that the historical and narrative approach is suited to include context and political dimensions, which are often missing in IB research. Originality/value This paper combines an empirical study of a company with an analysis of discursive legitimation with a study of IB research.