Compass for public/private management in turbulent times: corporate diplomacy

Abstract

The 21st century is characterised by grand challenges, external shocks and global fragilities, such as economic volatility and societal upheaval in our interconnected communities. International business managers must adapt to consider geopolitics as relevant to their activities, to integrate political risk analyses into their business decisions. International society is in need of content-sensitive orientation knowledge to reassess, adjust and accommodate diplomacy's essentials (human factor interactions) to new expectations of the public sphere. In a qualitative leap towards a change of mindset, decision-makers should learn to think and act responsibly through the middle of conflictual situations towards compromise and consensus, thus managing politics through diplomacy. Transnational corporations can profit from traditional state diplomacy in order to create a reliable working environment and to anticipate and avoid costly conflicts, if they practice Corporate Diplomacy as a key concept of trusted and coordinated collaboration with government and local host communities. Corporations adhering to the diplomatic communication tool of Corporate Diplomacy are also gaining legitimacy and political influence over the development of societies.