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Title: The role of governing boards in building legitimacy for new entrepreneurial ventures in host markets: a systematic literature review

Authors: Andrew Godley; Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun; George Lodorfos; Rita Nasr; Anastasia Konstantopoulou; Lebene Richmond Soga; Joseph Amankwah-Amoah

Addresses: University of Sussex, University of Sussex Business School, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK ' University College London, UCL Global Business School for Health, WC1E 6BT, London ' Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Business School, LS1 3HB, Leeds, UK ' Arab Urban Development Institute, Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ' Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, UK, L39 4QP, UK ' Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Business School, LS1 3HB, Leeds, UK ' Durham University Business School, Durham, DH1 3LB, UK

Abstract: Although there is a growing body of research on gaining legitimacy by entrepreneurial ventures in host markets, studies on the role of governing boards in legitimacy building are typified by a lack of clarity due to the fragmented nature of the extant literature. Drawing on an 11-year period (2011-2021) review of the literature on the role of boards of directors (BoDs) in building legitimacy for entrepreneurial ventures in host markets, we attempt to resolve this lacuna in the extant literature on legitimacy building. Specifically, we develop a unified conceptual framework, which provides clarity by mapping out the intellectual contributions on the dynamics of the role of BoDs in building legitimacy for new entrepreneurial ventures in host markets while highlighting the resultant outcomes of such dynamics in conveying legitimacy.

Keywords: board of directors; BOD; corporate governance; host markets; legitimacy; new ventures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2025.146677

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2025 Vol.55 No.7, pp.1 - 36

Received: 08 Sep 2024
Accepted: 06 May 2025
Published online: 11 Jun 2025 *