The History of the Decline and Fall of News of the World : How Legitimacy Upholds the License to Operate

Sammanfattning: This thesis provides a biographical case study of the crisis faced by News of the World, after revelations of unethical journalistic practices within the newspaper. A scandal that rapidly moved up the organizational hierarchy and spread globally, affecting stakeholders amongst all its networks from local British communities to its parent company News Corporation and its main owners, the Murdoch family. Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management is presented as a key factor in order to uphold and obtain the society’s permission to operate. The study shows the importance of being a good corporate citizen, not solely as goodwill but in order to gain a parachute that can moderate the fall when facing a crisis.