The Dynamics of Fine-Grained Firm–Stakeholder Contentions and Synergies in the Process of Sustainable Development: The Case of Cassava-Based Beer Production in Africa

Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) involves a massive variety of stakeholders with differing objectives and values, and consequently comes with tensions and tradeoffs among such stakeholders. Yet, at the same time, these stakeholders often manage to create win–wins and synergies. Prior studies have not fully addressed the question of how stakeholders manage conflicts while creating synergies in the process of sustainable development. Focusing on the socioeconomic dimensions of sustainable development, we offer an empirical study on the tension-managing and synergy-creating process of sustainable development in the setting of SABMiller’s cassava-based beer production project in Africa. The key approach in our study is to systematically capture fine-grained firm-stakeholder synergistic and contentious interactions that took place in specific situations over time throughout the production project. We then weave those fine-grained interactions together to create a process view of the project. Based on the process view through the contention–synergy lens, our study reveals some key insights on the internal dynamics of the process of sustainable development along socioeconomic dimensions, contributing to the current literature on socioeconomic sustainable development.