Slim Responses to Super-Sized Tensions: Defensive Construction of Strategic Tension on Social Issues

Abstract

Companies increasingly face strategic tensions due to social issues jeopardizing their core business model. For companies that produce and market processed high-fat-high-sugar food and drinks, the obesity pandemic constitutes such a strategic tension. We conduct a qualitative study of the newspaper coverage on companies’ responses to obesity to analyse how these companies deal with the strategic tensions around obesity. Our findings show that while accepting the strategic tension around obesity, companies purposefully reconstruct and deconstruct the tension to protect their business model. These mechanisms of re- and deconstruction translate into defensive responses to social issues. In contrast to what the paradox literature suggests, the acceptance of strategic tensions does not necessarily trigger constructive responses. Our analysis shows that active engagement with paradox can be of a defensive nature. We offer a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and discursive tactics of defensive responses to strategic tensions around social issues.