Sustainable development and stakeholder engagement in the agri‐food sector: Exploring the nexus between biodiversity conservation and information technology

Abstract

AbstractOrganizations across various industries engage in biodiversity conservation as a way to achieve sustainable development and to manage stakeholder engagement expectations. Although the importance of information and communication technology to promote biodiversity conservation has been recognized, little attention has been devoted to shedding more light on corporate practices in this area. This study explores how organizations do use information technology and reporting practices to influence stakeholders' perceptions on biodiversity initiatives. Data are collected from agri‐food companies listed by the Fortune Global 500. Based on a qualitative content analysis approach, this research found that geospatial technologies and web‐based features support organizations' impression management efforts with regard to their biodiversity conservation practices. More precisely, our findings suggest that organizational impression management tactics of abstraction, selectivity and self‐promotion are used to rationalize corporate actions in this area. The paper develops a better understanding of corporate tactics aimed at influencing stakeholders' perceptions of the reliability and credibility of companies' biodiversity conservation practices. Implications of the results for the stakeholders of business organizations are also discussed. This study offers contributions to the body of literature on biodiversity reporting, communication technology and impression management tactics. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are also described.