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- Report n°2: An integrated approach to economic and social contestability in business
Report n°2: An integrated approach to economic and social contestability in business
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Table of contents
- The contestability of an economic operator: a multi-dimensional strategic variable
The contestability of an economic operator: a multi-dimensional strategic variable
This study aims at developing an integrated approach to the exposure of economic agents to different contestation phenomena, the first task for the analyst is to explain how the economic contestability (Baumol et al, 1982) of an operator ties in with his exposure to social contestation of the legitimacy of his activity on matters of stake to the community, such as the environment or public health. This was the ambition of the Contestability Management model (Hommel, 2001; Hommel et Godard, 2001), which served as the initial basis for the approach.
In the examined case of ferrous scrap recycling, analysis clarified the conditions of exposure and sensitisation of the recycling operator to threats of contestation on environmental and social matters and the interplay of this form of contestability with the management of his relations with upstream and downstream operators. This led us to propose a typology of the potential forms of contestation that are seen in this branch of activity and to depict the dynamic relations on which they are organised. Different paths are then spotlighted with a view to developing a theory of contestability. We also identify leverage actions to enhance the effectiveness of preventive management strategies and forestall threats of social protest against an economic activity of this nature in the name of risks to the community.