Stakeholder Relations:
Cooperation Improves Communications
If corporations are standoffish or hostile to their employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, communication channels become blocked and distorted with disinformation. Conversely, good working relationships enhance the vital flow of valuable knowledge. From this view of O.I., therefore, cooperation with stakeholders is not simply "social responsibility" or "business ethics" -- it is a route to competitive advantage.
Some companies unite all these alliances into complete "corporate communities." G.M., Saturn, the Body Shop and IKEA develop trusting relations with clients, share power with workers and cooperate with suppliers while also making better profits. Microsoft, Netscape and America Online have formed complete economic ecosystems to unite suppliers, manufacturers and distributors in a cluster of cooperating firms.