Based on a longitudinal qualitative study of local and international law firms in key African markets for legal services (South Africa, Kenya, and Mauritius), we develop theory on how African law firms can work toward repositioning and legitimating themselves in this competitive space. Our data suggest that African law firms have long suffered "liability of origin" stemming from a perception of inferiority relative to Western competitors. Recently however, in a short period of about 10-15 years, they have started to turn the corner, gradually closing the competitive and legitimacy gap from foreign firms and asserting themselves in certain service segments. We identify several mechanisms at play. Our study contributes to the literature by problematizing the meaning of key constructs in international business, such as liability of foreignness and liability of origin, examining the evolution of such liabilities over time, and highlighting the importance for legitimacy of a broader set of factors including deliberate firm strategies, collective action, as well as inter-firm interactions aimed at changing cognitive structures.
