Abstract
Corporate-community engagement initiatives are often evaluated primarily through instrumental outcomes, overlooking the relational and ethical dimensions that influence long-term sustainability. This study critically explored how relational stake holding is conceptualized, implemented, and experienced within the corporate-community engagement initiatives of a selected South African FMCG firm. The purpose was to understand the dynamic, two-way relationships between managers and community stakeholders, the impact of power asymmetries, and the processes through which mutual value is created or constrained.
The study was guided by three objectives: (1) to explore how corporate managers initiate, build, and maintain relationships with community stakeholders during sustainability initiatives; (2) to examine how power dynamics and relational imbalances influence social, environmental, and economic outcomes; and (3) to understand how managerial decisions affect the quality, depth, and sustainability of engagement. A qualitative single case study design was adopted, with purposively selected participants comprising school staff, parents, community members, members of the School Governing Body, and corporate managers responsible for the initiative. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observational field notes and analysed using ATLAS.ti to identify key codes, co-occurrences, and thematic networks.
Findings revealed that managers’ practices, such as joint planning, informal check-ins, and volunteer engagement, fostered trust, participation, and a sense of ownership among community stakeholders. However, uneven power dynamics manifested through decision authority, resource control, and knowledge gaps affected community participation, perceived benefits, and engagement quality. Managerial decisions that emphasized co-creation, feedback integration, and empowerment initiatives strengthened relational depth, while tokenistic or short-term interventions limited sustainability. Cross-case analysis highlighted points of alignment and divergence between managerial intentions and community perceptions, illustrating the subtle relational asymmetries that shape engagement outcomes.
The study contributes theoretically by extending relational stakeholder theory to FMCG community initiatives, demonstrating the relevance of Ubuntu ethics in corporate-community engagement, and illustrating the effects of power asymmetries on sustainability outcomes. Practically, it provides actionable guidance for managers to balance authority with inclusion, strengthen communication, and implement empowerment initiatives for ethically responsible, mutually beneficial partnerships. Despite the single-case context and qualitative scope, the findings offer rich insights into relational stakeholder practices, emphasizing the importance of trust, respect, and shared decision-making for sustainable corporate-community collaboration.