Abstract
Campaigning activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have increased public awareness and concern regarding the alleged unethical and environmentally damaging practices of many major multinational companies. Companies have responded by developing corporate social responsibility strategies to demonstrate their commitment to both the societies within which they function and to the protection of the natural environment. This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity. This article examines the ways in which stakeholder dialogue has impacted upon the relationships between NGOs and businesses. In doing so, it contributes to the call for more ‘stakeholder-focused’ research in this field (Frooman in Acad Manag Rev 24(2): 191–205, 1999; Steurer in Bus Strategy Environ 15: 15–69 2006). By adopting a stakeholder lens, and focusing more heavily upon the impact on one particular stakeholder community (NGOs) and looking in depth at one form of engagement (stakeholder dialogue), this article examines how experiences of dialogue are strategically transforming interactions between businesses and NGOs. It shows how experiences of stakeholder dialogue have led to transformations in the drivers for engagement, transformations in the processes of engagement and transformations in the terms of engagement. Examining these areas of transformation, the article argues, reveals the interactions at play in framing and shaping the evolving relationships between business and its stakeholders.
Highlights
Companies are coming under intense scrutiny regarding their social, ethical and environmental impacts
This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity
A core part of this increased public awareness has developed through the campaigning and alternative media activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Clean Clothes Campaign
Summary
Companies are coming under intense scrutiny regarding their social, ethical and environmental impacts. Recent years have witnessed a dramatic shift in campaigning focus towards major multinationals highlighted by the growing strength of the anti-corporate movement This has placed the question of the social and environmental responsibilities of business firmly in the public eye. This article will build upon existing knowledge in this field by drawing upon research that examines NGOs as important secondary stakeholders (den Hond and de Bakker 2007; de Bakker and den Hond 2008; King 2008) It will examine experiences of dialogue and how this has shaped the approaches of NGOs and businesses in terms of how they engage in selective and strategic forms of interaction and how this has led to the emergence of new drivers behind dialogue, new ways of working and a two-way process of managing these new relationships. It will utilise material from interviews, workshops and focus groups, with NGOs, companies and third-party facilitator organisations to examine the impact that dialogue has had upon the relationships between businesses and NGOs
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