Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/157810 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
Diskussionsbeitrag No. 1704
Publisher: 
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung (DARE), Göttingen
Abstract: 
Sustainability management often requires voluntary initiatives beyond legal regulations. Hereby, multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) gain importance. Despite the actual high occurrence of these initiatives, little information concerning the stakeholders' negotiation behaviour in MSIs exists. In this paper, we analyse a MSI related to the implementation of a sustainability-oriented standard for pasture-raised milk in Germany using participatory research. The results indicate that from an economic point of view not all stakeholders behave in a predictable way. Contrary to the assumption, one dairy involved in the MSI following a cost leadership strategy, pled for a high standard, as did the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved. Because this dairy was unable to fulfil this high standard, this behaviour can be interpreted as a 'prevention strategy'. It can be concluded that the classical assumption of stakeholder behaviour - such as tit-for-tat negotiations between the economic side and NGOs - must be reviewed, revealing strategies of hidden intention.
Subjects: 
multi-stakeholder initiative
stakeholder negotiation strategies
prevention strategy
hidden intention
pasture-raised milk
sustainability
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
534.22 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.