Corporate Diplomacy: Pursuing Public and Private Benefits and Promoting Conflict Resolution

While the press abounds with bad news about business, recent news stories have also featured actions of companies using their clout and political resources for the benefit of the public, such as the activities of Google and Twitter facilitating public freedom of expression in Egypt’s Arab Spring. This paper explores the development of the construct of business diplomacy as a distinct concept within business management scholarship. We suggest that a key characteristic of business diplomacy is the concurrent and deliberate pursuit of both public and private benefits. This renders business diplomacy a distinct concept from corporate political strategy or strategic political management, both of which traditionally have been associated with the pursuit of self-interest at the level of the individual firm or group of firms. We connect the budding research on business diplomacy with peace through commerce scholarship and explore how business diplomacy can promote conflict resolution.

Biography

Professor Westermann teaches Global Corporate Citizenship, which examines business law, business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Her research focuses on global corporate responsibility and stakeholder management and she has critically investigated the role of business in promoting sustainable peace and respecting human rights. Before earning her Ph.D., Professor Westermann gained a variety of experiences in the public and private sector, as an international trade attorney and banker.