Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

The Bureaucratization of Fantasy and K-Pop’s Discursive Legitimation

Lin Yihuan, Choo Wei Chong, Ng Keng Yap, Zhang Juan

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v15-i12/27340

Open access

The global ascent of K-Pop has transformed entertainment agencies into multinational corporations facing intense ESG scrutiny. Yet, a critical gap remains regarding how “merchants of fantasy” navigate the discursive tension between cultural authenticity and bureaucratic standardization since existing research largely neglects the creative industries. To address this, this study employs Critical Discourse Analysis to examine CEO messages from the “Big Four” agencies, specifically HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG, covering fiscal years 2022 to 2024. By utilizing a sociosemantic framework of legitimation strategies combined with a processual view of legitimacy, this longitudinal analysis identifies four distinct institutional logics utilized by the sample firms. These discursive strategies reflect a growing “bureaucratization of fantasy,” revealing how agencies increasingly rely on rational-legal validation to mitigate owner risk and satisfy global capital markets. Consequently, this study not only fills the gap in research on legitimation strategies within the cultural industry but also contributes to understanding how creative enterprises strategically navigate the conflict between “authenticity” and “standardization” under global ESG pressures.

Alvarez Lorenzo, F., & Gilmore, C. (2021). Alternative values and stigmatized agents: Communicating legitimacy in the creative industries. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 51(2), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2021.1884152
An, C. (2025). K-pop idols as dependent self-employment workers: Exploitation, subordination, and labor protections. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 55(4), 184–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2025.2504979
Annisette, M., Vesty, G., & Amslem, T. (2017). Accounting values, controversies, and compromises in tests of worth. In Justification, evaluation and critique in the study of organizations: Contributions from French pragmatist sociology (Vol. 52, p. 0). Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20170000052007
Ashforth, B. E., & Gibbs, B. W. (1990). The double-edge of organizational legitimation. Organization Science, 1(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.2.177
Bartholomew, S., & Nadasdi, J. (2022). Managing global expansion in the K-pop industry: Strategic lessons from YG Entertainment. In T. Wu & N. Bu (Eds.), International business in the new Asia-Pacific: Strategies, opportunities and threats (pp. 239–257). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87621-0_9
Blau, P. M. (1963). Critical remarks on Weber’s theory of authority. American Political Science Review, 57(2), 305–316. https://doi.org/10.2307/1952824
Boersma, M. (2022). Organizational legitimacy and legitimizing myths. In Research handbook on the sociology of organizations (pp. 107–124). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Brennan, N. M., & Merkl-Davies, D. M. (2013). Accounting narratives and impression management. In The Routledge companion to accounting communication. Routledge.
Carminati, D. (2022). The economics of soft power: Reliance on economic resources and instrumentality in economic gains. Economic and Political Studies, 10(1), 19–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/20954816.2020.1865620
Carney, M., & Liang, Z. (2023). Family business groups in advanced Asian economies and the politics of institutional trust. In M. Rautiainen, M. J. Parada, T. Pihkala, N. Akhter, A. Discua Cruz, & K. Mukherjee (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of managing family business groups (pp. 241–265). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13206-3_10
Castelló, I., & Lozano, J. M. (2011). Searching for new forms of legitimacy through corporate responsibility rhetoric. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(1), 11–29. https://doi.org/10/bxqjq9
Che, S., Zhu, W., & Li, X. (2020). Anticipating corporate financial performance from CEO letters utilizing sentiment analysis. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2020, 1–17. https://doi.org/10/gnc3br
Choi, M., & Hong, S. (2022). Another form of greenwashing: The effects of Chaebol firms’ corporate governance performance on the donations. Sustainability, 14(6), 3373. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063373
Choi, S. J. (2020). Gender, labor, and the commodification of intimacy in K-pop [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5xj1r230
Chung, C. Y., Jo, H., & Lee, J. (2025). A pathway to local legitimacy: The impact of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility in chaebol-affiliated firms. Financial Innovation, 11(1), 114. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-025-00784-x
Deephouse, D. L., Bundy, J., Tost, L. P., & Suchman, M. C. (2017). Organizational legitimacy: Six key questions. In The SAGE handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 27–54). SAGE. https://doi.org/10/gtksht
DeFillippi, R., Grabher, G., & Jones, C. (2007). Introduction to paradoxes of creativity: Managerial and organizational challenges in the cultural economy. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(5), 511–521. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.466
Di Marco, R., Dong, T., Malatincová, R., Reuter, M., & Strömsten, T. (2023). Symbol or substance? Scrutinizing the ‘risk transparency premise’ in marketized sustainable finance: The case of TCFD reporting. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(6), 3027–3052. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3285
Drake, P. (2013). Policy or practice? Deconstructing the creative industries. In P. Szczepanik & P. Vonderau (Eds.), Behind the screen: Inside European production cultures (pp. 221–236). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137282187_14
Eloire, F., & Gradoz, J. (2025). ‘The economics of singularities’ by Lucien Karpik: Debts and criticisms. Review of Social Economy, 83(3), 304–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2024.2398419
Erkama, N., & Vaara, E. (2010). Struggles over legitimacy in global organizational restructuring: A rhetorical perspective on legitimation strategies and dynamics in a shutdown case. Organization Studies, 31(7), 813–839. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840609346924
Estévez-Abe, M., & Naldini, M. (2016). Politics of defamilialization: A comparison of Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain. Journal of European Social Policy, 26(4), 327–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928716657276
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research (Vol. 270). Routledge.
Fooks, G., Gilmore, A., Collin, J., Holden, C., & Lee, K. (2013). The limits of corporate social responsibility: Techniques of neutralization, stakeholder management and political CSR. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(2), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1250-5
Grant, J., & Wunder, T. (2021). Strategic transformation to sustilience: Learning from COVID-19. Journal of Strategy and Management, 14(3), 331–351. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-07-2021-0151
Haack, P., Schoeneborn, D., & Wickert, C. (2012). Talking the talk, moral entrapment, creeping commitment? Exploring narrative dynamics in corporate responsibility standardization. Organization Studies, 33(5–6), 815–845. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840612443630
Haiven, M. (2020). Culture and financialization: Four approaches. In The Routledge international handbook of financialization. Routledge.
Hardy, C. (2001). Researching organizational discourse. International Studies of Management & Organization, 31(3), 25–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2001.11656819
Hardy, C., Palmer, I., & Phillips, N. (2000). Discourse as a strategic resource. Human Relations, 53(9), 1227–1248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700539006
Heizmann, H., & Olsson, M. R. (2015). Power matters: The importance of Foucault’s power/knowledge as a conceptual lens in KM research and practice. Journal of Knowledge Management, 19(4), 756–769. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2014-0511
Higgins, C., & Walker, R. (2012). Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports. Accounting Forum, 36(3), 194–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003
Hundt, D. (2005). A legitimate paradox: Neo-liberal reform and the return of the state in Korea. The Journal of Development Studies, 41(2), 242–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/0022038042000309232
Ismail, U., & Khan, M. (2023). K-pop fans practices: Content consumption to participatory approach. Global Digital & Print Media Review, VI(II), 238–250. https://doi.org/10.31703/gdpmr.2023(VI-II).16
Joh, S. W. (2007). The Korean corporate governance system: Before and after the crisis. In M. J.-E. Woo (Ed.), Neoliberalism and institutional reform in East Asia: A comparative study (pp. 215–237). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230590342_8
Joutsenvirta, M., & Vaara, E. (2015). Legitimacy struggles and political corporate social responsibility in international settings: A comparative discursive analysis of a contested investment in Latin America. Organization Studies, 36(6), 741–777. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840615571958
Jun, H., & Kim, S. (2023). Towards an ESG framework for HYBE: Implications from ESG incident data analysis. Korea Business Review, 27(Special Issue), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.17287/kbr.2023.27.0.23
Karpik, L. (2010). Valuing the unique: The economics of singularities. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400835218
Kim, G. (2017). K-pop female idols: Culture industry, neoliberal social policy, and governmentality in Korea. In The Routledge handbook of global cultural policy. Routledge.
Kim, G. (2020). From factory girls to K-pop idol girls: Cultural politics of developmentalism, patriarchy, and neoliberalism in South Korea’s popular music industry. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kim, K.-P. (2024). Contributing to the nation through business: Development of hegemonic strategies of South Korean conglomerates. Globalizations, 21(8), 1595–1609. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2024.2386775
Kim, R. C., Yoo, K. I., & Uddin, H. (2018). The Korean Air nut rage scandal: Domestic versus international responses to a viral incident. Business Horizons, 61(4), 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.03.002
Kim, S. J. (2017). Discursive (de)legitimation of a contested return of former chairman Lee Kun-Hee to Samsung chaebol. Global Business Finance Review, 22(2), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.17549/gbfr.2017.22.2.48
Kim, S., & Jung, D. (2020). CSR and accounting transparency: Comparison with Korean chaebol. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 9(2), 1–23.
Kim, Y. (2021). Introduction: Popular culture and soft power in the social media age. In The soft power of the Korean wave. Routledge.
Larsen, S. N. (2014). Compulsory creativity: A critique of cognitive capitalism. Culture Unbound, 6(1), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146159
Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, A. (2011). Organizations as discursive constructions: A Foucauldian approach. Organization Studies, 32(9), 1247–1271. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840611411395
Lee, D. (2021). Strategic organisational change and artist-leadership in the K-pop industry: A narrative analysis approach [Doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick]. http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3520405
Leinonen, S. (2024). Idols & ideals: Ethical challenges in the Korean music industry [Master's thesis, Aalto University]. https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/128009
Lin, Y. (2021). Legitimation strategies in corporate discourse: A comparison of UK and Chinese corporate social responsibility reports. Journal of Pragmatics, 177, 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.02.009
Liu, L., Ma, Z., Zhou, Y., Fan, M., & Han, M. (2024). Trust in ESG reporting: The intelligent Veri-Green solution for incentivized verification. Blockchain: Research and Applications, 5(2), 100189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcra.2024.100189
Lourenço, I., Oliveira, J., Castelo Branco, M., & Inácio, A. S. (2025). Institutionally endorsed reputation for CSR leadership and the textual characteristics of CEO letters in CSR reports. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 16(6), 1534–1559. https://doi.org/10.1108/SAMPJ-04-2024-0345
Lozano, R., & Barreiro-Gen, M. (2021). Disrupting the brave new world: COVID-19 effects on organisations’ sustainability efforts. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 34(3), 613–628. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-09-2020-0276
Luu, V. T. (2022). Seung-ri and the Burning Sun scandal: A study of K-pop idol reputations and identities [Master’s thesis, Nanyang Technological University]. https://doi.org/10.32657/10356/163672
Luyckx, J., & Janssens, M. (2016). Discursive legitimation of a contested actor over time: The multinational corporation as a historical case (1964–2012). Organization Studies, 37(11), 1595–1619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840616655493
Marais, M. (2012). CEO rhetorical strategies for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Society and Business Review, 7(3), 223–243. https://doi.org/10/gsmfdc
Marquis, C., & Qian, C. (2014). Corporate social responsibility reporting in China: Symbol or substance? Organization Science, 25(1), 127–148. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2013.0837
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340–363. https://doi.org/10.1086/226550
Midtgård, K., & Selart, M. (2025). Cognitive biases in strategic decision-making. Administrative Sciences, 15(6), 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15060227
Min, B.-S. (2025). The K-pop industry: Competitiveness and sustainability. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 31(6), 788–804. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2024.2366979
Mirshahi, R. (2021). Hallyu: How South Korean cultural diplomacy shapes the nation brand [Master's thesis]. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/43153
Moon, J. J. (2025). Corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship in Korea. In Routledge handbook of Korean business and management. Routledge.
Morrow, G. (2018). Agile management strategies. In Artist management. Routledge.
Mumby, D. K., & Stohl, C. (1991). Power and discourse in organization studies: Absence and the dialectic of control. Discourse & Society, 2(3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926591002003004
Nardi, L. (2022). The corporate social responsibility price premium as an enabler of substantive CSR. Academy of Management Review, 47(2), 282–308. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0425
Oh, I., & Rowley, C. (2024). Corporate governance and firm legitimacy: Chaebol governance and political corruption in South Korea. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 25(1), 87–93. https://doi.org/10.1353/gia.2024.a934890
Park, S., Jo, H., & Kim, T. (2023). Platformization in local cultural production: Korean platform companies and the K-pop industry. International Journal of Communication, 17, 22–45. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/20785
Petit, V. (2012). Like a phoenix from the ashes: A Weberian analysis of the charismatic CEO routinization. European Management Journal, 30(6), 510–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2012.06.006
Phillips, N., & Oswick, C. (2012). Organizational discourse: Domains, debates, and directions. Academy of Management Annals, 6(1), 435–481. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2012.681558
Poiriazi, E., Zournatzidou, G., Konteos, G., & Sariannidis, N. (2025). Analyzing the interconnection between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and corporate corruption: Revealing the significant impact of greenwashing. Administrative Sciences, 15(3), 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15030100
Powell, W., & Bromley, P. (2015). New institutionalism in the analysis of complex organizations. International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). https://www.google.com/search?q=https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.73038-0
Salancik, G. R., & Meindl, J. R. (1984). Corporate attributions as strategic illusions of management control. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(2), 238–254. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393176
Schormair, M. J. L., & Gilbert, D. U. (2021). Creating value by sharing values: Managing stakeholder value conflict in the face of pluralism through discursive justification. Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(1), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2020.12
Shin, K. A. (2013). Defamilization of elderly care and the experiences of the aged in Korea. Korean Social Sciences Review, 3(1), 71–105. https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/handle/10371/83054
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. The Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610. https://doi.org/10.2307/258788
Suddaby, R., Bitektine, A., & Haack, P. (2017). Legitimacy. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 451–478. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2015.0101
Suddaby, R., & Greenwood, R. (2005). Rhetorical strategies of legitimacy. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(1), 35–67. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.1.35
Vaara, E. (2014). Struggles over legitimacy in the Eurozone crisis: Discursive legitimation strategies and their ideological underpinnings. Discourse & Society, 25(4), 500–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926514536962
Vaara, E., Aranda, A. M., & Etchanchu, H. (2024). Discursive legitimation: An integrative theoretical framework and agenda for future research. Journal of Management, 50(6), 2343–2373. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063241230511
Vaara, E., & Tienar, J. (2008). A discursive perspective on legitimation strategies in multinational corporations. Academy of Management Review, 33(4), 985–993. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.34422019
Van Leeuwen, T. (2007). Legitimation in discourse and communication. Discourse & Communication, 1(1), 91–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481307071986
Weber, M. (1968). On charisma and institution building: Selected writings. University of Chicago Press.
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (Vol. 2). University of California Press.
Weber, M. (1997). Rational-legal authority and bureaucracy. In Policy process (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2015). Critical discourse studies: History, agenda, theory and methodology. In Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 1–23). SAGE.

Yihuan, L., Chong, C. W., Yap, N. K., & Juan, Z. (2025). The Bureaucratization of Fantasy and K-Pop’s Discursive Legitimation. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(12), 2921–2941.