Synthesizing advocacy and social license seeking strategies in stakeholder management: A content analysis of corporate responses to Russia-Ukraine war

How do companies manage conflicting stakeholder requests on controversial issues? To address this overarching question, this study analyzed responses to the Russia-Ukraine war of 1386 companies. The qualitative content analysis of 2294 responses identified four strategies varying along two dimensions (focus: advocacy versus defense; magnitude: extensive versus reserved). The subsequent quantitative analysis of 1366 first responses to the war revealed that organizations from diverse backgrounds adopted various strategies. Extensive Defense was the most common strategy in the first responses, with a defensive focus particularly evident in some business-facing industries, such as industrials. Incorporating the lenses of Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) and Social License to Operate (SLO), the findings show how companies navigate conflicting stakeholder requests by aligning with supportive stakeholders or minimizing dissent to secure broader acceptance. The integration of the CSA and SLO approaches broadens the stakeholder management narrative to address an increasingly diverse and complex global stakeholder landscape.