Discursive Tensions in CSR Multi-stakeholder Dialogue: A Foucauldian Perspective Christiane Marie Høvring 1 • Sophie Esmann Andersen 1 • Anne Ellerup Nielsen 1 Received: 5 February 2016 / Accepted: 13 September 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Corporate social responsibility is a complex discipline that not only demands responsible behavior in production processes but also includes the concepts of communicative transparency and dialogue. Stakeholder dialogue is therefore expected to be an integrated part of the CSR strategy (Morsing and Schultz in Bus Ethics: A Eur Rev 14(4):323–338, 2006). However, only few studies have addressed the practice of CSR stakeholder dialogue and the challenges related hereto. This article adopts a postmodern perspective on CSR stakeholder dialogue. Based on a comprehensive single case study on stakeholder dialogue in a global dairy company, we focus on the complexity of CSR dialogue with multiple stakeholders. Drawing on a critical reflexive methodology (Alvesson and Ka ¨rreman in Acad Manag Rev 32(4):1265–1281, 2007), we develop the research question: How is CSR multi- stakeholder dialogue practiced, experienced, and articu- lated in an empirical context? The purpose is to understand the underlying assumptions, expectations, and principles guiding CSR multi-stakeholder dialogue in an empirical setting, as we focus on how key stakeholders articulate and anticipate the values of stakeholder dialogue and how the actual stakeholder dialogues are enacted. The findings of the study differ significantly from the ideals of transparent and agenda-free stakeholder dialogue. Rather, the study shows an overall tension between ideal and practice, sup- porting the progressive importance of the dialogue process in itself as an essential part of the end goal. The implication of this is a growing pressure on creating transparency about the (re)positioning and negotiation of roles throughout the dialogue process. Keywords Case study Á Communication Á CSR Á Dialogue Á Discourse Á Foucault Á Multi-stakeholder Á Tension Introduction As a response to an increased awareness of and demand for corporations to become socially responsible, stakeholder dialogue and corporate transparency have become critical requirements in today’s organizations (Burchell and Cook 2013). As a theoretical concept, stakeholder dialogue is perceived as the means to achieve successful CSR pro- cesses and outcomes: It contributes to the implementation of CSR strategies (Burchell and Cook 2013); wards off critical stakeholders and replace stakeholder confrontation with cooperation (Kaptein and van Tulder 2003); and, finally, it is crucial for legitimizing a corporate ‘license to operate’ (Heath et al. 2006). Stakeholder dialogue is prescribed in various forms in CSR communication strategies, albeit most based on the same premise: stakeholder dialogue is a prerequisite for CSR success (Morsing and Schultz 2006). In this norma- tive framing, stakeholder dialogue is projected as an ide- alized practice, argued through theoretical constructs and best practice cases (Van Huijstee and Glasbergen 2008) in which the meeting between company and stakeholder is & Christiane Marie Høvring cmoh@bcom.au.dk Sophie Esmann Andersen sea@bcom.au.dk Anne Ellerup Nielsen aen@bcom.au.dk 1 Department of Business Communication, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark 123 J Bus Ethics DOI 10.1007/s10551-016-3330-4