Building Organizational Legitimacy in Volatile Markets: A Strategic Marketing Alignment Perspective on Sustainable Growth

Authors

Keywords:

leadership sensemaking, human resource reconfiguration, continuous strategic renewal, dynamic capabilities, strategic human resource management, organizational adaptation

Abstract

Organizations increasingly operate in environments characterized by persistent uncertainty, technological disruption, and rapidly changing competitive conditions, making continuous strategic renewal a critical capability for long-term survival. Despite extensive research on leadership sensemaking, strategic renewal, dynamic capabilities, and strategic human resource management, existing knowledge remains theoretically fragmented, providing limited explanation of how leaders’ cognitive interpretations are translated into sustained organizational adaptation. This conceptual article addresses this gap by developing an integrated middle-range theoretical framework that explains the recursive process through which leadership sensemaking shapes strategic interpretation, stimulates human resource reconfiguration, and ultimately enables continuous strategic renewal. Drawing upon the complementary insights of sensemaking theory, dynamic capability theory, strategic renewal, and strategic human resource management, the article synthesizes these perspectives into a coherent causal mechanism and advances a set of theoretically grounded propositions. The proposed framework extends current knowledge by identifying human resource reconfiguration as the critical adaptive mechanism linking managerial cognition with capability renewal and organizational adaptation. The study contributes to theory by integrating previously disconnected perspectives into a unified explanatory model and provides a robust foundation for future empirical research examining the cognitive and organizational microfoundations of continuous strategic renewal in increasingly turbulent environments.

References

Agarwal, R., & Helfat, C. E. (2009). Strategic Renewal of Organizations. Organization Science, 20(2), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0423

Apascaritei, P., & Elvira, M. M. (2022). Dynamizing human resources: An integrative review of SHRM and dynamic capabilities research. Human Resource Management Review, 32(4), 100878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2021.100878

Barr, P. S., Stimpert, J. L., & Huff, A. S. (1992). Cognitive change, strategic action, and organizational renewal. Strategic Management Journal, 13(S1), 15–36.

Beltrán-Martín, I., Roca-Puig, V., Escrig-Tena, A., & Bou-Llusar, J. C. (2008). Human resource flexibility as a mediating variable between high-performance work systems and performance. Journal of Management, 34(5), 1009–1044.

Burgelman, R. A. (1991). Intraorganizational Ecology of Strategy Making and Organizational Adaptation: Theory and Field Research. Organization Science, 2(3), 239–262. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.3.239

Chadwick, C., Super, J. F., & Kwon, K. (2015). Resource Orchestration in Practice: CEO Emphasis on SHRM, Commitment-Based HR Systems, and Firm Performance. Strategic Management Journal, 36(3), 360–376. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2217

Cornelissen, J. P., Mantere, S., & Vaara, E. (2014). The Contraction of Meaning: The Combined Effect of Communication, Emotions, and Materiality on Sensemaking in the Stockwell Shooting. Journal of Management Studies, 51(5), 699–736. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12073

Cristofaro, M. (2022). Organizational sensemaking: A systematic review and a co-evolutionary model. European Management Journal, 40(3), 393–405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2021.07.003

Crossan, M. M., & Berdrow, I. (2003). Organizational learning and strategic renewal. Strategic Management Journal, 24(11), 1087–1105. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.342

Crossan, M. M., Lane, H. W., & White, R. E. (1999). An Organizational Learning Framework: From Intuition to Institution. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 522–537. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.2202135

Dutton, J. E., & Dukerich, J. M. (1991). Keeping an Eye on The Mirror: Image and Identity in Organizational Adaptation. Academy of Management Journal, 34(3), 517–554. https://doi.org/10.2307/256405

Gioia, D. A., & Chittipeddi, K. (1991). Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation. Strategic Management Journal, 12(6), 433–448. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250120604

Gioia, D. A., Schultz, M., & Corley, K. G. (2000). Organizational Identity, Image, and Adaptive Instability. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791603

Helfat, C. E., & Martin, J. A. (2015). Dynamic Managerial Capabilities. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1281–1312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314561301

Helfat, C. E., & Peteraf, M. A. (2015). Managerial cognitive capabilities and the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6), 831–850. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2247

Hortovanyi, L., Szabo, R. Z., & Fuzes, P. (2021). Extension of the strategic renewal journey framework: The changing role of middle management. Technology in Society, 65, 101540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101540

Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How Does Human Resource Management Influence Organizational Outcomes? A Meta-analytic Investigation of Mediating Mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal, 55(6), 1264–1294. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0088

Kaplan, S. (2008). Framing Contests: Strategy Making Under Uncertainty. Organization Science, 19(5), 729–752. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0340

Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organizational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.07.001

Lepak, D. P., & Snell, S. A. (1999). The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital Allocation and Development. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 31–48. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.1580439

Maitlis, S., & Christianson, M. (2014). Sensemaking in Organizations: Taking Stock and Moving Forward. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 57–125. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2014.873177

Maitlis, S., & Lawrence, T. B. (2007). Triggers And Enablers Of Sensegiving In Organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 57–84. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24160971

March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.71

Mehralian, G., Sheikhi, S., Zatzick, C., & Babapour, J. (2023). The dynamic capability view in exploring the relationship between high-performance work systems and innovation performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(18), 3555–3584. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2138494

Mikalef, P., & Gupta, M. (2021). Artificial intelligence capability: Conceptualization, measurement calibration, and empirical study on its impact on organizational creativity and firm performance. Information & Management, 58(3), 103434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103434

Montero Guerra, J. M., Danvila-del-Valle, I., & Méndez-Suárez, M. (2023). The impact of digital transformation on talent management. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 188, 122291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122291

Nevalainen, P., Lamberg, J.-A., Seppälä, J., & Mattila, P. (2025). Executive training as a turning point in strategic renewal processes☆. Long Range Planning, 58(2), 102510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102510

Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 187–209.

Ocasio, W., Laamanen, T., & Vaara, E. (2018). Communication and attention dynamics: An attention‐based view of strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 39(1), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2702

Rouleau, L. (2005). Micro‐Practices of Strategic Sensemaking and Sensegiving: How Middle Managers Interpret and Sell Change Every Day*. Journal of Management Studies, 42(7), 1413–1441. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00549.x

Schilke, O., Hu, S., & Helfat, C. E. (2018). Quo Vadis, Dynamic Capabilities? A Content-Analytic Review of the Current State of Knowledge and Recommendations for Future Research. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 390–439. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0014

Schmitt, A., Raisch, S., & Volberda, H. W. (2018). Strategic Renewal: Past Research, Theoretical Tensions and Future Challenges. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12117

Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2007). Managing Firm Resources in Dynamic Environments to Create Value: Looking Inside the Black Box. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23466005

Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Gilbert, B. A. (2011). Resource Orchestration to Create Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1390–1412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385695

Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.640

Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z

Tripsas, M., & Gavetti, G. (2000). Capabilities, cognition, and inertia: evidence from digital imaging. Strategic Management Journal, 21(10–11), 1147–1161. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200010/11)21:10/11<1147::AID-SMJ128>3.0.CO;2-R

Weick, K. E. (1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies, 25(4), 305–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1988.tb00039.x

Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409–421. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0133

Wright, P. M., & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical Perspectives for Strategic Human Resource Management. Journal of Management, 18(2), 295–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639201800205

Downloads

Published

2026-07-13