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Building Capabilities for Multi-Stakeholder Interactions at Global and Local Levels: The case of Unilever

Author

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  • Dentoni, Domenico
  • Veldhuizen, Margreeth

Abstract

Managers of Unilever discuss the processes that led the company to develop and implement a corporate sustainability strategy working with multiple stakeholders. Major learning points include: 1) interactions with stakeholders are crucial to secure strategic resources in developing countries; 2) developing multi-stakeholder platforms must be rooted in the corporate culture and based on principles of innovation; 3) the overarching sustainability strategy, Sustainable Living Plan, launched in 2010, set broad objectives, while empowering local and regional managers—and even individual employees—to start and scale bottom-up initiatives if they find consensus within the organization. The discussions promise to fuel the debate on how organizations can effectively manage “wicked problems” through multi-stakeholder engagement.

Suggested Citation

  • Dentoni, Domenico & Veldhuizen, Margreeth, 2012. "Building Capabilities for Multi-Stakeholder Interactions at Global and Local Levels: The case of Unilever," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 15(B), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ifaamr:142299
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.142299
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dentoni, Domenico & Peterson, H. Christopher, 2011. "Multi-Stakeholder Sustainability Alliances: A Signaling Theory Approach," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103978, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Dentoni, Domenico & Hospes, Otto & Ross, R. Brent, 2012. "Managing Wicked Problems in Agribusiness: The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Engagements in Value Creation," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 15(B), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Domenico Dentoni & Verena Bitzer & Stefano Pascucci, 2016. "Cross-Sector Partnerships and the Co-creation of Dynamic Capabilities for Stakeholder Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 35-53, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Özgü Karakulak & Lea Stadtler, 2022. "Working with Complexity in the Context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of Global Health Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 997-1018, November.
    2. Gauly, Sarah & Kühl, Sarah & Spiller, Achim, 2017. "Uncovering strategies of hidden intention in multi-stakeholder initiatives: The case of pasture-raised milk," DARE Discussion Papers 1704, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    3. Dentoni, Domenico & Ross, R. Brent, 2013. "Towards a Theory of Managing Wicked Problems through Multi-Stakeholder Engagements: Evidence from the Agribusiness Sector," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 16(A), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Dentoni, Domenico & Hospes, Otto & Ross, R. Brent, 2012. "Managing Wicked Problems in Agribusiness: The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Engagements in Value Creation," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 15(B), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Paul T. M. Ingenbleek & Domenico Dentoni, 2016. "Learning from Stakeholder Pressure and Embeddedness: The Roles of Absorptive Capacity in the Corporate Social Responsibility of Dutch Agribusinesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-18, October.

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