When business associations and a federal ministry jointly consult civil society: a CSR policy case study on the development of the CSR Austria Guiding Vision

Astrid Schäfer, Robert-Andre Martinuzzi, Reinhard Steurer

Publication: Scientific journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

In 2002, Austrian business organizations and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour decided to raise the awareness of CSR in Austria by formulating a CSR guiding vision for Austrian businesses after consulting a broad variety of stakeholders. This paper describes the development of the CSR Austria Guiding Vision from 2003, and it gives a brief overview of other public CSR initiatives launched in Austria since then. Since the authors were involved drafting the CSR Austria Guiding Vision as consultants, the paper describes success factors, lessons learned and recommendations relevant for other large-scale stakeholder dialogues on CSR from an insider perspective. Overall, we conclude that a clear idea about the structure, the type and the rules of the stakeholder involvement (conceptual issues), in combination with a timely, honest and empathic approach towards stakeholders (procedural issues), are important success factors for any stakeholder dialogue.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)270 - 280
JournalCorporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Volume15
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2008

Austrian Classification of Fields of Science and Technology (ÖFOS)

  • 201128 Sustainable building

Cite this