From “Managing for Stakeholders” to “Managing with Stakeholders”: When Stakeholders Can Help Rescue a Company

By analyzing a case study, this paper aims to explore if and how an open dialogue with stakeholders helps to “articulate the meaning of the corporation and the sense of responsibility” (Wicks, Gilbert and Freeman 1994: 477) among stakeholders. To do that, a ‘relational view’ of the firm is adopted in which the corporation is constituted by the relationships with its stakeholders who constantly interact with it and with each other and give meaning and definition to the corporation. After a brief theoretical introduction on stakeholder dialogue, this chapter presents and analyses the case of F.lli Tomasoni, an organic dairy that was rescued from bankruptcy by its customers. Crucial in this case was the presence of consumer groups (Gruppi di acquisto solidali – GAS). The case shows how participation in consumer groups educates people to share meaning, values and practices and reinforces responsibility for their economic choices. They could be considered as a “community of practice” where ethical beliefs are shaped and put into concrete actions, and this leads to a different way of considering the relationship between the company and its stakeholders. Dialogue is not only a powerful tool for understanding and answering stakeholders’ interests, but also an effective means for communicating a company’s needs and expectations and, therefore, for co-creating mutual understanding and value-attunement among the various stakeholders.