How do businesses resolve conflict with the communities in which they operate when they can’t agree on what that conflict is?

When the nature of a business sets it within a community, particularly one within a developing country, there can be significant culture clashes. To overcome these potentially damaging clashes and support local communities, firms often operate community investment (CI) programs. These discretionary investments into local causes are usually unrelated to the operation of the business and instead aimed at enhancing the population’s income, life quality and wellbeing. 

However, the inevitable presence of wide cultural gaps between business managers and community stakeholders can lead to disagreements about the beneficiaries of these funds and how they are managed. How a solution to these disagreements is sought can cause further friction, with each side preferring to adopt its own sets of rules.

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Article published in Esade Do Better