Forgotten economic actors How pirates, mafias and other illegitimate firms shape economic systems and competition

Abstract

The study of legitimacy and legal/illegal boundaries has fascinated social scientists and other scholars for many years. What is considered legal and illegal, legitimate and illegitimate is at best a social construct and, arguably, at worst defined or imposed by socio-economic systems such as capitalism or communism. The construct is a fluid one, open to definition by social groups and individuals, as well as being enshrined in laws and regulations designed to protect and preserve economic systems. It is curious, therefore, that researchers of organizations and management have paid relatively little attention to both the definitions and the activities of what might be considered illegal or illegitimate organizations.