IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i2p999-d483260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why Does Context Really Matter? Understanding Companies’ Dialogue with Fringe Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Rodrigo

    (Strategy Department, Escuela de Negocios, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar 2562340, Chile)

  • Ignacio J. Duran

    (Institute for Social Innovation, Universitat Ramon Llull—ESADE Business School, 08172 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

Although scholars have studied stakeholder dialogue, we lack studies that understand the effect of context on the structure and form of dialogue. To address this gap, in this research we focus on local rural communities that can be classified as fringe stakeholders to develop a comprehensive model of “fringe community dialogue”. As these neglected groups have been marginalized from society and face grave serious socio-environmental issues, we argue that these characteristics will affect the way dialogue occurs. Therefore, we posit that these instances need to be tailored to this specific stakeholder. To assess this, we follow a theory-building grounded theory approach, and as field of research we extract information from three different research sites. Findings indicate that, because of the characteristics of fringe communities, dialogues must follow three sequential dimensions, which are connected by two enabling mechanisms. We contribute by evincing that, because of this stakeholder’s characteristics, the dialogue process has a particular structure and key variables, differing from what the past literature asserts.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Rodrigo & Ignacio J. Duran, 2021. "Why Does Context Really Matter? Understanding Companies’ Dialogue with Fringe Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-26, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:999-:d:483260
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/999/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/999/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fabrizio Ferraro & Daniel Beunza, 2018. "Creating Common Ground: A Communicative Action Model of Dialogue in Shareholder Engagement," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1187-1207, December.
    2. Andersen, Sophie Esmann & Høvring, Christiane Marie, 2020. "CSR stakeholder dialogue in disguise: Hypocrisy in story performances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 421-435.
    3. McCarthy, Lauren, 2017. "Empowering Women Through Corporate Social Responsibility: A Feminist Foucauldian Critique," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 603-631, October.
    4. Veronica Devenin & Constanza Bianchi, 2018. "Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 866-879, September.
    5. Lacey, Justine & Carr-Cornish, Simone & Zhang, Airong & Eglinton, Kelvyn & Moffat, Kieren, 2017. "The art and science of community relations: Procedural fairness at Newmont's Waihi Gold operations, New Zealand," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 245-254.
    6. Dunham, Laura & Freeman, R. Edward & Liedtka, Jeanne, 2006. "Enhancing Stakeholder Practice: A Particularized Exploration of Community," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 23-42, January.
    7. Holley, Elizabeth A. & Mitcham, Carl, 2016. "The Pebble Mine Dialogue: A case study in public engagement and the social license to operate," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 18-27.
    8. Jon Burchell & Joanne Cook, 2013. "Sleeping with the Enemy? Strategic Transformations in Business–NGO Relationships Through Stakeholder Dialogue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 505-518, March.
    9. Colleen George & Maureen G. Reed, 2017. "Revealing inadvertent elitism in stakeholder models of environmental governance: assessing procedural justice in sustainability organizations," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(1), pages 158-177, January.
    10. Andrew Crane & Sarah Glozer, 2016. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1223-1252, November.
    11. Emilio Passetti & Lara Bianchi & Massimo Battaglia & Marco Frey, 2019. "When Democratic Principles are not Enough: Tensions and Temporalities of Dialogic Stakeholder Engagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 173-190, March.
    12. Dare, Melanie (Lain) & Schirmer, Jacki & Vanclay, Frank, 2011. "Does forest certification enhance community engagement in Australian plantation management?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 328-337, June.
    13. Michelle Greenwood & Harry Buren III, 2010. "Trust and Stakeholder Theory: Trustworthiness in the Organisation–Stakeholder Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 425-438, September.
    14. Matthew Murphy & Daniel Arenas, 2010. "Through Indigenous Lenses: Cross-Sector Collaborations with Fringe Stakeholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 103-121, July.
    15. Terry Beckman & Alison Colwell & Peggy Cunningham, 2009. "The Emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility in Chile: The Importance of Authenticity and Social Networks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 191-206, March.
    16. Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo, 2011. "The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 899-931, June.
    17. José M. Agudo‐Valiente & Concepción Garcés‐Ayerbe & Manuel Salvador‐Figueras, 2015. "Corporate Social Performance and Stakeholder Dialogue Management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 13-31, January.
    18. Arturs Kalnins & Glen Dowell, 2017. "Community Characteristics and Changes in Toxic Chemical Releases: Does Information Disclosure Affect Environmental Injustice?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 277-292, October.
    19. Westermann-Behaylo, Michelle K. & Van Buren, Harry J. & Berman, Shawn L., 2016. "Stakeholder Capability Enhancement as a Path to Promote Human Dignity and Cooperative Advantage," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 529-555, October.
    20. Morgan Miles & Linda Munilla & Jenny Darroch, 2006. "The Role of Strategic Conversations with Stakeholders in the Formation of Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 195-205, December.
    21. Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy & Rifkin, Will & Louis, Winnifred & Moffat, Kieren, 2017. "Meaningful dialogue outcomes contribute to laying a foundation for social licence to operate," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 347-355.
    22. Thibault Daudigeos & Thomas Roulet & Bertrand Valiorgue, 2020. "How Scandals Act as Catalysts of Fringe Stakeholders' Contentious Actions against Multinational Corporations," Post-Print hal-03041023, HAL.
    23. Sinziana Dorobantu & Kate Odziemkowska, 2017. "Valuing Stakeholder Governance: Property Rights, Community Mobilization, and Firm Value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(13), pages 2682-2703, December.
    24. Lisa Calvano, 2008. "Multinational Corporations and Local Communities: A Critical Analysis of Conflict," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(4), pages 793-805, November.
    25. Tanusri Dey & Nazir A. Pala & Gopal Shukla & Prabhat K. Pal & Ganesh Das & Sumit Chakarvarty, 2018. "Climate change perceptions and response strategies of forest fringe communities in Indian Eastern Himalaya," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 925-938, April.
    26. Daniel Arenas & Pablo Sanchez & Matthew Murphy, 2013. "Different Paths to Collaboration Between Businesses and Civil Society and the Role of Third Parties," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 723-739, July.
    27. Julia Roloff, 2008. "Learning from Multi-Stakeholder Networks: Issue-Focussed Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 233-250, September.
    28. Sébastien Mena & Marieke Leede & Dorothée Baumann & Nicky Black & Sara Lindeman & Lindsay McShane, 2010. "Advancing the Business and Human Rights Agenda: Dialogue, Empowerment, and Constructive Engagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 161-188, April.
    29. Frances Bowen & Aloysius Newenham-Kahindi & Irene Herremans, 2010. "When Suits Meet Roots: The Antecedents and Consequences of Community Engagement Strategy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 297-318, August.
    30. J. C. Keenan & D. L. Kemp & R. B. Ramsay, 2016. "Company–Community Agreements, Gender and Development," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 607-615, June.
    31. Yakovleva, Natalia & Vazquez-Brust, Diego Alfonso, 2018. "Multinational mining enterprises and artisanal small-scale miners: From confrontation to cooperation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 52-62.
    32. Michael O. Erdiaw-Kwasie & Khorshed Alam & Md. Shahiduzzaman, 2017. "Towards Understanding Stakeholder Salience Transition and Relational Approach to ‘Better’ Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case for a Proposed Model in Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 85-101, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edwin Rühli & Sybille Sachs & Ruth Schmitt & Thomas Schneider, 2017. "Innovation in Multistakeholder Settings: The Case of a Wicked Issue in Health Care," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 289-305, June.
    2. Rajiv Maher, 2019. "Squeezing Psychological Freedom in Corporate–Community Engagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 1047-1066, December.
    3. Viveros, Hector, 2017. "Unpacking stakeholder mechanisms to influence corporate social responsibility in the mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-12.
    4. Preuss, Lutz & Vazquez-Brust, Diego & Yakovleva, Natalia & Foroughi, Hamid & Mutti, Diana, 2022. "When social movements close institutional voids: Triggers, processes, and consequences for multinational enterprises," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    5. Domenico Dentoni & Verena Bitzer & Greetje Schouten, 2018. "Harnessing Wicked Problems in Multi-stakeholder Partnerships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 333-356, June.
    6. Lite J. Nartey & Witold J. Henisz & Sinziana Dorobantu, 2023. "Reciprocity in Firm–Stakeholder Dialog: Timeliness, Valence, Richness, and Topicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 429-451, March.
    7. Kougiannou, Nadia K. & O'Meara Wallis, Matthew, 2020. "‘Chimneys don't belch out carnations!’ The (in)tolerance of corporate hypocrisy: A case study of trust and community engagement strategies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 348-362.
    8. Salla Laasonen & Martin Fougère & Arno Kourula, 2012. "Dominant Articulations in Academic Business and Society Discourse on NGO–Business Relations: A Critical Assessment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 521-545, September.
    9. Josep F. Mària & Jennifer Goodman, 2023. "Conflicts in the framing of conflicts: The case of community investment in a mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(5), pages 671-687, July.
    10. Manon Eikelenboom & Thomas B. Long, 2023. "Breaking the Cycle of Marginalization: How to Involve Local Communities in Multi-stakeholder Initiatives?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 31-62, August.
    11. Aloysius Newenham-Kahindi, 2011. "A Global Mining Corporation and Local Communities in the Lake Victoria Zone: The Case of Barrick Gold Multinational in Tanzania," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(2), pages 253-282, March.
    12. Baba, Sofiane & Mercier, Naoko & Guesthier, Andrée-Anne, 2024. "Fostering the social license to operate: An integrative framework of organizational antecedents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Veronica Devenin & Constanza Bianchi, 2018. "Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 866-879, September.
    14. Ivan Montiel & Junghoon Park & Bryan W. Husted & Andres Velez-Calle, 2022. "Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1785-1804, October.
    15. Rafael Alcadipani & Cíntia Rodrigues Oliveira Medeiros, 2020. "When Corporations Cause Harm: A Critical View of Corporate Social Irresponsibility and Corporate Crimes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 285-297, November.
    16. Julia Rotter & Peppi-Emilia Airike & Cecilia Mark-Herbert, 2014. "Exploring Political Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 581-599, December.
    17. Andrew Crane & Sarah Glozer, 2016. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1223-1252, November.
    18. Victoria Wells & Nick Ellis & Richard Slack & Mona Moufahim, 2019. "“It’s Us, You Know, There’s a Feeling of Community”: Exploring Notions of Community in a Consumer Co-operative," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 617-635, September.
    19. Runhui Lin & Yuan Gui & Zaiyang Xie & Lu Liu, 2019. "Green Governance and International Business Strategies of Emerging Economies’ Multinational Enterprises: A Multiple-Case Study of Chinese Firms in Pollution-Intensive Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-32, February.
    20. Matthew Murphy & Daniel Arenas & Joan Batista, 2015. "Value Creation in Cross-Sector Collaborations: The Roles of Experience and Alignment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 145-162, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:999-:d:483260. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.