From Sustainability to Legitimacy: Reflections for the 21st-Century Company De la sostenibilidad a la legitimidad: reflexiones para la empresa del siglo XXI

Abstract

In the contemporary conversation about business, few words have acquired as much power and, at the same time, as much complexity as sustainability. What was perceived a few decades ago as a peripheral responsibility today constitutes a strategic axis that connects the legitimacy of organizations, their competitiveness in international markets, and their ability to generate trust in society. Sustainability has gone from being a discourse to becoming a shared language that redefines how we conceive of business value.

In my research, I have explored precisely these intersections.

One of the questions that guided my first systematic reviews was: what comes first, sustainability or corporate reputation? The analysis of almost two decades of literature showed that, in most cases, sustainability acts as an antecedent and catalyst for reputation, consolidating itself as a tool for social acceptance and brand positioning (Gomez-Trujillo et al., 2020). It's not just about meeting indicators, but about understanding that environmental, social, and governance practices build a credible narrative that allows the company to differentiate itself, protect itself from reputational risks, and ensure its long-term survival.