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The Normative Core of Relational Stakeholder Strategies: Explaining Open Buyer-Supplier Relations in the Context of the Amazon Rainforest

Sérgio G. Lazzarini et al.

Business Ethics Quarterly2025https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2025.3article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.41

Abstract

While from an instrumental perspective stakeholder relations can promote sustained competitive advantage, normative arguments underscore the importance of morally informed principles, especially when relational strategies have uncertain future outcomes and are prone to imitation. This study investigates how such instrumental and normative views can be complementary based on the case study of Natura, a cosmetics company procuring natural inputs from the Amazon rainforest via supplier relations that are open to multiple parties, including competitors. The research shows that Natura developed and reinforced a morally informed normative core specifying how the company and its managers should act. This resulted in a long-term commitment to the open relational strategy, especially when future outcomes were largely uncertain, which in turn promoted emergent instrumental gains via deepened relational attachments and substantive stakeholder engagement. Importantly, the company’s controlling shareholders strongly influenced the normative core, thus underscoring the importance of identifying key shareholders and their values.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2025.3

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@article{sérgio2025,
  title        = {{The Normative Core of Relational Stakeholder Strategies: Explaining Open Buyer-Supplier Relations in the Context of the Amazon Rainforest}},
  author       = {Sérgio G. Lazzarini et al.},
  journal      = {Business Ethics Quarterly},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2025.3},
}

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The Normative Core of Relational Stakeholder Strategies: Explaining Open Buyer-Supplier Relations in the Context of the Amazon Rainforest

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Evidence weight

0.41

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.