Stakeholder dialogue as agonistic deliberation: exploring the role of conflict and self-interest in business-NGO interaction

Many companies engage in dialogue with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about societal issues. The question is what a regulative ideal for such dialogues should be. In the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Habermasian notion of communicative action is often presented as a...

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Autori: Brand, Teunis (Autore) ; Blok, Vincent 1970- (Autore) ; Verweij, Marcel (Autore)
Tipo di documento: Elettronico Articolo
Lingua:Inglese
Verificare la disponibilità: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Pubblicazione: 2020
In: Business ethics quarterly
Anno: 2020, Volume: 30, Fascicolo: 1, Pagine: 3-30
Altre parole chiave:B agonistic deliberation
B stakeholder dialogue
B Conflict
B Aufsatz in Zeitschrift
B Nongovernmental organizations
B Self-interest
B Consensus
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Riepilogo:Many companies engage in dialogue with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about societal issues. The question is what a regulative ideal for such dialogues should be. In the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Habermasian notion of communicative action is often presented as a regulative ideal for stakeholder dialogue, implying that actors should aim at consensus and set strategic considerations aside. In this article, we argue that in many cases, communicative action is not a suitable regulative ideal for dialogue between companies and NGOs. We contend that there is often an adversarial element in the relation between companies and NGOs, and that an orientation towards consensus can be in tension with this adversarial relation. We develop an alternative approach to stakeholder dialogue called ‘agonistic deliberation.’ In this approach, conflict and strategic considerations play a legitimate and, up to a certain point, desirable role.
ISSN:2153-3326
Comprende:Enthalten in: Business ethics quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/beq.2019.21