The influence of culture on stakeholder management

In today’s age of globalization, the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) have become the focus of international public attention. In many cases, this public scrutiny comes about when managers at the MNC’s headquarters want to implement global standards in their local subsidiaries. A possible reason for this conflict is that global standards might not be in accordance with the culture and the expectations of the national societies in which the MNC’s subsidiaries operate. For multinational corporations, managing the diffusion of stakeholder principles and practices effectively is key to finding a balance between implementing global standards and responding to local needs. Mark Veser addresses how culture influences the diffusion of stakeholder management principles and practices in MNCs with respect to their social stakeholders. This book advances the field’s understanding of the way culture influences the acceptance and implementation of global stakeholder management principles and practices at the local level. It uses literature on stakeholder management, international management, and cultural studies as its main theoretical lens in developing an explicatory framework for this study. An extensive case study on ABB’s stakeholder dialogue efforts when introducing their social policy is also presented here. The main contributions of this book are threefold: first, this study develops a theoretical framework for managing stakeholder relationships in an international and multicultural environment. It also develops a methodology for analyzing stakeholder dialogue data based on cultural differences. Lastly, it provides unique insights into how various cultural dimensions affect the local subsidiaries by using ABB’s global efforts to implement its social policy as its case study. The strength of this book lies in its broad-based appeal to both academics and practitioners who share an interest in the sustainability of MNCs’ operations.