Licence to Operate – Ingredients for Successful and Sustainable Stakeholder Management
| Date | 01 November 2015 |
| Published date | 01 November 2015 |
| Author | Anne Wolf,Ronny Kaufmann |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12200 |
Licence to Operate –Ingredients for
Successful and Sustainable Stakeholder
Management
Anne Wolf
Director of Sustainability, Swiss Post
Ronny Kaufmann
CEO, Swisspower Ltd, Former Director Public Affairs & Corporate Responsibility,
Swiss Post
Public affairs management, and with it the way corpora-
tions and organisations handle stakeholders, has under-
gone a decisive shift in Switzerland over the past
20 years. Until the 1980s and 1990s, most organisations
had direct ties to politics. Switzerland’s militia system
meant corporate leaders held parliamentary mandates,
thus intervening directly in sociopolitical debates. Grow-
ing criticism of the intermeshing of politics and business,
as well as considerations of efficiency in a complex and
globally competitive environment, led to a gradual disso-
lution of such personal ties.
New challenges in external relations policy
Corporate withdrawal from politics triggered various
trends. First, in-house staff units or external lobbyists
replaced personal connections in handling corporate
relations with stakeholders and asserting corporate inter-
ests. Due to the increasing complexity of political issues
and processes, these staff units have developed into
highly specialised and professional management
functions.
Second, the depoliticisation of corporations prompted
a shift in public perception. As a consequence, numerous
stakeholder groups have organised to put forward their
interests to decision makers in business, politics and civil
society, challenging the legitimacy of corporate action.
Due to their increasing professionalisation, these groups
are now able to shape or even initiate opinion-forming
and legislative processes.
The role of corporations in today’s stakeholder
environment
Against the backdrop of rising demands as regards the
legitimacy of corporate action, engaging with stakeholders
has gained in strategic relevance. The way in which corpo-
rations interact with stakeholders plays a decisive role in
their public perception. Today, each organisation must
consciously define its position in societal discourse and in
the interplay of business, politics and society.
Elements of sustainable stakeholdermanagement
The sustainable management of external relations not
only establishes identity, it must further be understood
as a strategic factor of success and a source of legiti-
macy. This requires a shift in paradigm as regards a cor-
poration’s external relations. The authors put forward five
theses:
Thesis 1: open dialogue increases the chances of
balancing interests
Corporations pursue external goals. Systematically main-
taining relationships, shaping decision-making processes
and pursuing strategic public relations are all central
aspects of public affairs management, serving to assert
corporate interests.
However, the mere assertion of self-interest is out-
dated. Corporations must establish a sincere and active
dialogue with stakeholders, which presupposes genuine
interest for their concerns.
Swiss Post, for example, underwent this cultural shift
in the run-up to a political milestone, namely the total
revision of postal legislation, which aimed to redefine the
company’s operating framework for years to come.
As a longstanding provider of essential basic services,
Swiss Post is firmly anchored on the Swiss scene. While
this fosters a sense of proximity and engagement, it also
means that most people have an opinion or hold expec-
tations about the company’s behaviour. A corporation
Global Policy (2015) 6:4 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12200 ©2015 The Authors. Global Policy published by Durham University and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, whic h permits use and
distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Global Policy Volume 6 . Issue 4 . November 2015 489
Practitioners’ Special Section
To continue reading
Request your trial