Stakeholder engagement for sustainability, evidence from Chinese firms.

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement is “the process used by an organisation to engage relevant stakeholders for a clear purpose to achieve agreed outcomes”. Stakeholder engagement is claimed to increase an organisation’s overall performance, to enhance the quality and durability of its environmental decisions, to build social capital, and to lead to more equitable social development. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the main purpose, scope, actors, and methods of stakeholder engagement practices employed within the Chinese corporate context, with emphasis on their role in the realisation of social and environmental sustainability. First, a literature review of stakeholder theory and engagement, sustainability reporting, and stakeholder engagement in the Chinese context is presented. Then, GRI-based sustainability reports are used for data collection and for content analysis on how Chinese companies in the energy sector identify, manage, and engage stakeholders. The research questions are: How is stakeholder engagement structured in China, in terms of engagement level, focus and extent? Which practices and stakeholder groups stand out as most widely employed and represented and which are ignored or underrepresented? Are these practices peculiar to the Chinese context? Which trends emerge as different from previous research analysis of sustainability reports in western countries? Do these practices comply with guidelines for engagement best practice? What aspects need improvement? To address these questions the results are discussed and benchmarked against stakeholder engagement best practices, drawn from related literature, international sustainability standards, and reporting guidelines.