IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v183y2023i2d10.1007_s10551-022-05063-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reciprocity in Firm–Stakeholder Dialog: Timeliness, Valence, Richness, and Topicality

Author

Listed:
  • Lite J. Nartey

    (INSEAD)

  • Witold J. Henisz

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Sinziana Dorobantu

    (New York University)

Abstract

Scholars of stakeholder management have long grappled with the question of how to communicate with stakeholders to enhance cooperation and reduce conflict. We build on insights from the literature on stakeholder dialog to highlight the importance of four elements of firm–stakeholder dialog processes: timing, valence, richness, and topicality of firms’ responses to stakeholder engagements. We demonstrate a link between these elements of the firm–stakeholder dialog process and changes in stakeholder cooperation or conflict with the firm, as well as contingent tradeoffs among them. Specifically, we show that the relative importance of these elements is contingent upon stakeholder type and status. Government actors prioritize richness and topicality over timeliness and valence. Economic actors, by contrast, prioritize timeliness and valence. Civil society stakeholders prioritize timeliness, valence, and topicality over richness. Low-status actors across sectors deprioritize topicality and richness while high-status actors demand attentiveness to all four elements.

Suggested Citation

  • Lite J. Nartey & Witold J. Henisz & Sinziana Dorobantu, 2023. "Reciprocity in Firm–Stakeholder Dialog: Timeliness, Valence, Richness, and Topicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 429-451, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:183:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05063-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05063-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-022-05063-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-022-05063-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ceglarz, Andrzej & Beneking, Andreas & Ellenbeck, Saskia & Battaglini, Antonella, 2017. "Understanding the role of trust in power line development projects: Evidence from two case studies in Norway," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 570-580.
    2. Yves Fassin, 2010. "A Dynamic Perspective in Freeman’s Stakeholder Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 39-49, August.
    3. Olga Hawn & Ioannis Ioannou, 2016. "Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(13), pages 2569-2588, December.
    4. Rodolphe Durand & Deborah Philippe, 2011. "The impact of norm-conforming behaviors on firm reputation," Post-Print hal-00609203, HAL.
    5. Pia Lotila, 2010. "Corporate Responsiveness to Social Pressure: An Interaction-Based Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 395-409, July.
    6. Niamh Brennan & Doris Merkl-Davies & Annika Beelitz, 2013. "Dialogism in Corporate Social Responsibility Communications: Conceptualising Verbal Interaction Between Organisations and Their Audiences," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 665-679, July.
    7. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    8. McDonnell, Mary-Hunter & King, Brayden & Soule, Sarah A., 2015. "A Dynamic Process Model of Private Politics: Activist Targeting and Corporate Receptivity to Social Challenges," Research Papers 3319, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    9. Michelle Greenwood & Harry Buren III, 2010. "Trust and Stakeholder Theory: Trustworthiness in the Organisation–Stakeholder Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 425-438, September.
    10. Friederike Schultz & Itziar Castelló & Mette Morsing, 2013. "The Construction of Corporate Social Responsibility in Network Societies: A Communication View," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 681-692, July.
    11. Jeffrey S. Harrison & Andrew C. Wicks, 2021. "Harmful Stakeholder Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 405-419, March.
    12. Tony Simons, 2002. "Behavioral Integrity: The Perceived Alignment Between Managers' Words and Deeds as a Research Focus," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(1), pages 18-35, February.
    13. Jan Bebbington & Judy Brown & Bob Frame & Ian Thomson, 2007. "Theorizing engagement: the potential of a critical dialogic approach," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 356-381, June.
    14. Antoaneta P. Petkova & Violina P. Rindova & Anil K. Gupta, 2013. "No News Is Bad News: Sensegiving Activities, Media Attention, and Venture Capital Funding of New Technology Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 865-888, June.
    15. Stuart L. Hart & Gautam Ahuja, 1996. "Does It Pay To Be Green? An Empirical Examination Of The Relationship Between Emission Reduction And Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 30-37, March.
    16. Mueller, Hannes & Rauh, Christopher, 2018. "Reading Between the Lines: Prediction of Political Violence Using Newspaper Text," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 112(2), pages 358-375, May.
    17. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    18. Deanna Kemp & John Owen & Nora Gotzmann & Carol Bond, 2011. "Just Relations and Company–Community Conflict in Mining," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 93-109, June.
    19. Douglas A. Bosse & Robert A. Phillips & Jeffrey S. Harrison, 2009. "Stakeholders, reciprocity, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 447-456, April.
    20. Heli Wang & Jaepil Choi & Jiatao Li, 2008. "Too Little or Too Much? Untangling the Relationship Between Corporate Philanthropy and Firm Financial Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 143-159, February.
    21. Tobias Hahn & Noël Albert, 2017. "Strong Reciprocity in Consumer Boycotts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 509-524, October.
    22. Jan Bebbington & Judy Brown & Bob Frame & Ian Thomson, 2007. "Theorizing engagement: the potential of a critical dialogic approach," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 356-381, June.
    23. Jeffrey S. Harrison & Douglas A. Bosse & Robert A. Phillips, 2010. "Managing for stakeholders, stakeholder utility functions, and competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 58-74, January.
    24. Gregory D. Saxton & Charlotte Ren & Chao Guo, 2021. "Responding to Diffused Stakeholders on Social Media: Connective Power and Firm Reactions to CSR-Related Twitter Messages," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 229-252, August.
    25. Min-Dong Lee, 2011. "Configuration of External Influences: The Combined Effects of Institutions and Stakeholders on Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 281-298, August.
    26. Mooweon Rhee & Pamela R. Haunschild, 2006. "The Liability of Good Reputation: A Study of Product Recalls in the U.S. Automobile Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 101-117, February.
    27. Dorit Efrat-Treister & Arik Cheshin & Dana Harari & Anat Rafaeli & Shira Agasi & Hadar Moriah & Hanna Admi, 2019. "How psychology might alleviate violence in queues: Perceived future wait and perceived load moderate violence against service providers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, June.
    28. Witold J. Henisz & Sinziana Dorobantu & Lite J. Nartey, 2014. "Spinning gold: The financial returns to stakeholder engagement," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(12), pages 1727-1748, December.
    29. Sefa Hayibor & Colleen Collins, 2016. "Motivators of Mobilization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 351-374, December.
    30. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570710748544 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    32. Berdegué, Julio A. & Escobal, Javier & Bebbington, Anthony, 2015. "Explaining Spatial Diversity in Latin American Rural Development: Structures, Institutions, and Coalitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 129-137.
    33. Jon Burchell & Joanne Cook, 2013. "Sleeping with the Enemy? Strategic Transformations in Business–NGO Relationships Through Stakeholder Dialogue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 505-518, March.
    34. Ralph Hamann & Paul Kapelus, 2004. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Mining in Southern Africa: Fair accountability or just greenwash?," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 47(3), pages 85-92, September.
    35. Sefa Hayibor, 2017. "Is Fair Treatment Enough? Augmenting the Fairness-Based Perspective on Stakeholder Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 43-64, January.
    36. Andrew Crane & Trish Ruebottom, 2011. "Stakeholder Theory and Social Identity: Rethinking Stakeholder Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 77-87, March.
    37. Andreas Rasche & Daniel Esser, 2006. "From Stakeholder Management to Stakeholder Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 251-267, May.
    38. Phillips, Robert & Freeman, R. Edward & Wicks, Andrew C., 2003. "What Stakeholder Theory is Not," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 479-502, October.
    39. Berrone, Pascual & Gelabert, Liliana & Fosfuri, Andrea, 2009. "The impact of symbolic and substantive actions on environmental legitimacy," IESE Research Papers D/778, IESE Business School.
    40. King, Gary & Lowe, Will, 2003. "An Automated Information Extraction Tool for International Conflict Data with Performance as Good as Human Coders: A Rare Events Evaluation Design," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 617-642, July.
    41. Lite J. Nartey & Witold J. Henisz & Sinziana Dorobantu, 2018. "Status Climbing vs. Bridging: Multinational Stakeholder Engagement Strategies," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 367-392, June.
    42. James D. Westphal & David L. Deephouse, 2011. "Avoiding Bad Press: Interpersonal Influence in Relations Between CEOs and Journalists and the Consequences for Press Reporting About Firms and Their Leadership," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 1061-1086, August.
    43. Marlene Buchy & Digby Race, 2001. "The Twists and Turns of Community Participation in Natural Resource Management in Australia: What is Missing?," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 293-308.
    44. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2015. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on investment recommendations: Analysts' perceptions and shifting institutional logics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 1053-1081, July.
    45. David Eberle & Guido Berens & Ting Li, 2013. "The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 731-746, December.
    46. Julia Roloff, 2008. "Learning from Multi-Stakeholder Networks: Issue-Focussed Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 233-250, September.
    47. Jasmine Tata & Sameer Prasad, 2015. "CSR Communication: An Impression Management Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 765-778, December.
    48. Gregory D. Saxton & Lina Gomez & Zed Ngoh & Yi-Pin Lin & Sarah Dietrich, 2019. "Do CSR Messages Resonate? Examining Public Reactions to Firms’ CSR Efforts on Social Media," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 359-377, March.
    49. Linda O’Riordan & Jenny Fairbrass, 2014. "Managing CSR Stakeholder Engagement: A New Conceptual Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 121-145, November.
    50. Baruch Lev & Christine Petrovits & Suresh Radhakrishnan, 2010. "Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 182-200, February.
    51. Kathleen Rehbein & Jeanne Logsdon & Harry Buren, 2013. "Corporate Responses to Shareholder Activists: Considering the Dialogue Alternative," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 137-154, January.
    52. Kate Odziemkowska & Sinziana Dorobantu, 2021. "Contracting Beyond the Market," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 776-803, May.
    53. Linda O’Riordan & Jenny Fairbrass, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Models and Theories in Stakeholder Dialogue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(4), pages 745-758, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haram Seo & Jiao Luo & Aseem Kaul, 2021. "Giving a little to many or a lot to a few? The returns to variety in corporate philanthropy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(9), pages 1734-1764, September.
    2. Daniel L Gamache & François Neville & Jonathan Bundy & Cole E Short, 2020. "Serving differently: CEO regulatory focus and firm stakeholder strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1305-1335, July.
    3. J. Robert Mitchell & Ronald K. Mitchell & Richard A. Hunt & David M. Townsend & Jae H. Lee, 2022. "Stakeholder Engagement, Knowledge Problems and Ethical Challenges," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 75-94, January.
    4. Silvana Signori & Yves Fassin, 2023. "Family Members’ Salience in Family Business: An Identity-Based Stakeholder Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 191-211, February.
    5. Kamini Gupta & Donal Crilly & Thomas Greckhamer, 2020. "Stakeholder engagement strategies, national institutions, and firm performance: A configurational perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(10), pages 1869-1900, October.
    6. Aseem Kaul & Jiao Luo, 2018. "An economic case for CSR: The comparative efficiency of for‐profit firms in meeting consumer demand for social goods," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1650-1677, June.
    7. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati & Clodia Vurro, 2011. "Deconstructing the Relationship Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 59-76, March.
    8. Samantha Miles, 2017. "Stakeholder Theory Classification: A Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Definitions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 437-459, May.
    9. Elise Perrault, 2017. "A ‘Names-and-Faces Approach’ to Stakeholder Identification and Salience: A Matter of Status," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 25-38, November.
    10. Kira R. Fabrizio & Eun-Hee Kim, 2019. "Reluctant Disclosure and Transparency: Evidence from Environmental Disclosures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1207-1231, November.
    11. Jun Li & Di (Andrew) Wu, 2020. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements Lead to Real Environmental, Social, and Governance Impact?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2564-2588, June.
    12. Wei Li & Weining Li & Veikko Seppänen & Timo Koivumäki, 2023. "Effects of greenwashing on financial performance: Moderation through local environmental regulation and media coverage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 820-841, January.
    13. Cynthia Stohl & Michael Etter & Scott Banghart & DaJung Woo, 2017. "Social Media Policies: Implications for Contemporary Notions of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 413-436, May.
    14. Arouri, Mohamed & El Ghoul, Sadok & Gomes, Mathieu, 2021. "Greenwashing and product market competition," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    15. Yi Zhang, 2022. "Analyst coverage and corporate social responsibility decoupling: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 620-634, May.
    16. Jeffrey S. Harrison & Andrew C. Wicks, 2021. "Harmful Stakeholder Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 405-419, March.
    17. Nataša Verk & Urša Golob & Klement Podnar, 2021. "A Dynamic Review of the Emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 491-515, January.
    18. Francesco Testa & Ivan Miroshnychenko & Roberto Barontini & Marco Frey, 2018. "Does it pay to be a greenwasher or a brownwasher?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1104-1116, November.
    19. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Eteokleous, Pantelitsa P. & Christodoulides, Paul & Strømfeldt Eduardsen, Jonas, 2023. "A dynamic capabilities perspective to socially responsible family business: Implications on social-based advantage and market performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).
    20. Kirsten Martin & Robert Phillips, 2022. "Stakeholder Friction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 519-531, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:183:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05063-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.