IT vendors’ legitimation strategies and market share: The case of EMR systems

This study investigates the legitimation strategies adopted by information technology (IT) vendors and their respective influence on market share. We conducted an analysis of the public discourse on websites of top Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors in Ontario, Canada. A total of 815 segments extracted from these websites were analyzed. Our findings indicate that strategies under the cognitive and pragmatic forms of legitimacy were strongly represented in the EMR vendors’ discourses compared with regulative and normative strategies. Furthermore, the link between legitimation strategies and market share has not yet been clearly established. Implications for practice and research are discussed.