Corporate Diplomacy is a strategic business approach for companies operating internationally, in a target country, or managing relationships with stakeholders from other countries. These companies need to navigate a different cultural environment where business values and customs may be unfamiliar.
This is a relatively new field addressing the strategic management of a company’s external relationships with various stakeholders to create improved conditions for business activities. Through corporate diplomacy, a company aims to achieve its business goals while reducing risks and avoiding conflicts. Corporate diplomacy involves many stakeholders including government bodies, NGOs, local communities, media, customers, competitors, suppliers, employees, shareholders and investors.
Corporate diplomacy is defined as the corporate affairs activities of multinational companies directed at key stakeholders in the host country, with the goal of participating in decision-making processes on relevant socio-political issues and relationship building in order to gain legitimacy for corporate activities.
A corporate diplomacy strategy incorporates practical knowledge and experience from diverse areas including public relations (PR), public diplomacy (PD), corporate social responsibility (CSR), combined with intelligence, research and analysis capabilities, cultural understanding, and extensive familiarity with the business environment.