portuguesEste estudo objetiva averiguar a relacao existente entre as estrategias de legitimidade organizacional propostas por Lindblom (1994), evidenciadas no relatorio da administracao, com as geracoes familiares que administraram as empresas familiares no periodo de 1997 a 2006, no Brasil. A pesquisa caracteriza-se como exploratoria-descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa na analise de conteudo e quantitativa na associacao das variaveis. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que as empresas analisadas utilizaram-se mais da 2a e 3a estrategia de legitimidade organizacional para evidenciar aspectos ambientais e sociais de suas atividades. Das 13 empresas com as geracoes familiares disponiveis para analise, seis passaram pelo processo de transicao para outra geracao familiar e/ou administracao contratada. Relacionando-se as geracoes familiares gestoras com as estrategias de legitimidade organizacional, constatou-se por meio do coeficiente γ que a administracao familiar, independente da geracao presente na gestao, individual ou em conjunto com a administracao contratada, nao interferiu na evidenciacao ambiental e social no periodo analisado EnglishThis study aims to determine the relation between the legitimacy of organizational strategies proposed by Lindblom (1994), highlighted in the report of the administration, and the family generations that administered the family business in the period from 1997 to 2006, in Brazil. The research is characterized as exploratory/descriptive, uses a qualitative approach to the analysis of content and the association of quantitative variables. The survey results show that the companies examined used more the 2nd and 3r d legitimacy of organizational strategy to emphasize environmental and social aspects of their activities. Out of the 13 companies that had family generations available for analysis, 6 had been through the process of transition to another family generation and/or hired administration. Relating the family management generation to the strategies of organi zational legitimacy, using the coefficientγ, it was evident that the family administration, regardless of the present manager generation, individually or in conjunction with the hired administration, did not interfere in environmental and social disclosure in the analyzed period.