The absence of validated measurement instruments for organizational legitimacy in higher education has constrained theoretical advancement and empirical research, particularly in Latin America, where universities face unique legitimacy challenges balancing constitutional autonomy with social accountability demands. This study addresses this methodological gap by developing and rigorously validating a scale assessing organizational legitimacy across three theoretical dimensions. Data from 370 academic staff across Ecuadorian public and private universities were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and invariance testing. Results supported three-factor structure: pragmatic, normative, and cognitive legitimacy. The model demonstrated excellent fit, strong convergent validity, and acceptable discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing confirmed equivalence across gender and institutional type, enabling valid cross-group comparisons. These findings extend legitimacy theory to Latin American contexts, demonstrating the tripartite framework’s robustness across diverse institutional environments. The validated scale provides researchers with reliable measurement infrastructure and offers institutional leaders a diagnostic tool for strategic legitimacy management. This work contributes methodologically through rigorous validation, geographically through regional extension, and theoretically by supporting organizational legitimacy’s multidimensional structure in diverse higher education contexts.
Cañizares-Cedeño et al. (Sat,) studied this question.