In Strategic CSR, we advocate the position that it is in a firm’s best long term interests to attend to the needs and demands of as broad an array of stakeholders as possible (Chapter 1: Toward a Responsible Society, p3; Issues: Stakeholder Relations, p138). This is easier said than done, of course. In practice, it is much harder for firms to prioritize among stakeholders (they can’t please everyone all the time) and deal with conflicting stakeholder interests when they arise.
The short article in the url link below (actually a part of the larger column) speaks to this issue, arguing that the consumer is not always right and that expending too many resources on satisfying the needs and demands of the pickiest of stakeholders is often counterproductive. The article cites the website of Alexander Kjerulf (http://positivesharing.com/), a “business consultant” who titles himself, “Chief Happiness Officer”:
“Believing that “the customer is always right” is just plain wrong, [Kjerulf] writes. He cites several examples of why companies shouldn’t be spending too much time and money to make a troublesome customer happy. Some customers are simply better for business than others, he says. And it’s unfair that “abusive people get better treatment and conditions than nice people.””
The website provides a number of examples to support Kjerulf’s position and might be instructive for firms seeking to adopt a broader stakeholder perspective. Firms cannot be held hostage by a fringe stakeholder group that does not represent a position that is relatively broadly held:
http://positivesharing.com/2008/03/top-5-reasons-why-the-customer-is-always-right-is-wrong/
Equally, however, a firm should not ignore a stakeholder group’s legitimate position just because it is not sufficiently influential to cause the firm financial harm. As with most things in life, balance is essential.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
The Thin Skin of Apple Fans (Customers’ Disservice)
By DAN MITCHELL
104 words
22 March 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
5
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/business/22online.html
