Stakeholder dialogue: strategic tool or wasted words?

摘要

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify which stakeholder dialogue approach has the best outcomes. Moreover, it is investigated how stakeholder dialogue practices are linked to the quality of stakeholder management and the maturity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Design/methodology/approach: Twelve CSR managers of 11 French enterprises are interviewed. Findings: Four different types of stakeholder dialogue are identified and their characteristics, as well as the opportunities and risks connected to each approach, are discussed. Research limitations/implications: Only a limited number of enterprises operating in France are studied. More research is needed to ensure the generalisability to other countries and to identify the prevalence of each dialogue type. Practical implications: Proactive companies manage their stakeholders in a mutually beneficial way and receive more stakeholder support on strategic issues. They discuss issues material to stakeholders, include a wide range of stakeholders and organise frequent meetings. This approach, the Hanoï Dialogue, has the best outcomes and is, therefore, best practice. Social implications: Stakeholder dialogue is key for the development of CSR strategies which truly benefit society. Originality/value: Although stakeholder dialogues become empirically more relevant, most researchers conduct single-case studies of good practices and do not systematically compare a range of practices.