International business diplomacy: mining for good practices in Latin America

Historically, diplomacy has been an inherent aspect of international commerce and trade. Diplomacy has evolved, providing innovative tools and a theoretical foundation to conceptualise International Business Diplomacy (IBD). Despite numerous success stories, there is little awareness of how IBD may assist Managers of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), specifically in some crucial sectors. One of those sectors is the mining industry. This paper proposes enhancing IBD as a valuable area for providing value to MNEs in their relationships with different stakeholders, emphasising sustainability issues. After a brief review of the literature, we propose a working definition for international business diplomacy. Then, we describe the mining industry and the factors that create a need for private diplomatic intervention. Afterward, we move the discussion to Latin America, presenting the methodology and findings of our investigation. The final remarks share some findings that may help managers of MNEs operating in emerging markets.