Participatory democracy through the lens of controversy analysis and CSR

Abstract

How can companies increase participatory democracy to better avoid controversies? How can they identify alternative controversy avoidance strategies that promote learning and progress? In order to answer these questions, this article explores two avenues: studying the way in which research inspired by pragmatic sociology analyzes controversies on the one hand, and examining the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the other. In addition to (potentially) revealing controversy avoidance strategies not yet identified in the literature, these two avenues are complementary. CSR can contribute to the analysis of controversies by facilitating the identification of potential controversy points. In turn, the analysis of controversies can contribute to the reflection on the operationalization of CSR by offering tools to understand the trajectory of socio-environmental issues: systematic monitoring and symmetrical analysis.