Concerns have been raised that stakeholder dialogue as practised by
large companies often leads to the views of local people being drowned
out by the ‘loud voice’ of international NGOs and other interested
parties with different and sometimes opposing priorities.
In a report, Going Global, the US-based Center for Corporate
Citizenship at Boston College says its research into the way
multinationals work with stakeholders has shown that in many cases
‘only the loudest voices get heard’.
It says this ‘dichotomy’ is now a dominant concern of senior CSR
managers in large companies – particularly those operating overseas
away from headquarters. ‘Concerns of local stakeholders often become
subordinate to issues raised by other groups that command more
attention at headquarters,’ it says. ‘Some managers highlighted how at
times companies pay too much attention to the priorities of those who
can harm the company and not enough to those that the company can harm
or benefit.’
The centre finds managers ‘worry that expectations expressed through
civil society groups may not accurately reflect the priorities of
groups they claim to represent’, and that this ‘can create tension
within companies, especially when headquarters wants to respond to an
international group’s concerns that overseas managers do not think are
a priority.’ It says it is hard for multinationals to focus on the
views of less powerful community groups when international NGOs inflict
much more reputational damage and investors exert great influence.
It adds: ‘Managers, especially at corporate headquarters, feel
pressured to meet the expectations of those who have the greatest
influence on the company rather than of stakeholders upon whom the
company has the most impact. ‘
The demands of investors might, for instance, lead HQ to emphasize the
prevention of forced labour, even though it is not a priority for CSR
managers in locations where there is no such thing. In the meantime,
local demands for the company to provide community healthcare may go
unheeded, leading to absenteeism and lower productivity.
The report is based partly on in-depth interviews with 29 senior
managers in 15 countries working for six US-based multinationals – AMD,
Cargill, GE Consumer Finance, Levi Strauss, Nike and Unocal.
The centre says that while the issue is likely to be ‘a recurring
question in the future’, some companies are already trying to get to
grips with it. One of the companies uses role play in its planning
process, in which half of the participants argue for the local
community and the others for the company and other stakeholders. This
gives more weight to the views of less powerful stakeholders and
highlights concerns shared by all stakeholders. The centre adds that
companies should also make more effort to draw on the knowledge of
local staff.
Matt Taylor, corporate responsibility manager at BP, said his company
has made special efforts to listen to ‘the local, smaller voices, who
often have a more practical perspective’. Taylor added that local NGOs
‘are exposed to the realities of the business and the local
environment’ and can be ‘critical in … rebutting some of the less
well informed international commentary’ about the company.
