Fermer
Loading
Fermer

Fermer
You consult a document to analyse its content and determine whether it is useful for your teaching purposes. You order a document to use it in class. Note that the use of certain cases is subject to charges. These cases are easily identified by our business partners’ logos. When you want to use one of these cases in an educational context, you are redirected to the trading partner with which you will carry out the transaction.

Éviter la controverse : mode d’emploi recherché (A et B)

Avoiding Controversy: Easier Said Than Done (A and B)
Case 9 100 2022 007A-B
Case published in the International Journal of Case Studies in Management, Vol. 20, No. 4
Languages : 
  • French,
  • English
  • Acceptabilité sociale,
  • Controverse,
  • Légitimité
  • Social acceptability,
  • Controversy,
  • Legitimacy
Year of production : 
2022
Registration date : 
2022-10-27
Teaching notes included : 
Yes
Case document count : 
2

Ce cas porte sur l’industrie de la tourbe canadienne, industrie centenaire aux activités éloignées des grands centres. Il concerne le début des années 1990, un moment charnière de l’histoire de l’extraction de la tourbe au Canada. La conjoncture appelle alors à des décisions clés de la part de cette industrie en pleine croissance. En effet, plusieurs tendances règlementaires émergent et un concurrent britannique suscite une forte controverse. Au Canada, on souhaite éviter que celle-ci ne s’étende outre-Atlantique.

Le cas illustre les principaux défis rencontrés par les entreprises et les secteurs industriels dont les activités sont contestées : l’acceptabilité sociale, la prévention et la gestion des controverses, et le maintien de la légitimité.

Only the abstract is available in English.

The case deals with the century-old Canadian peat industry, whose activities take place far from major urban centres. The case is set in the early 1990s, a defining point in the history of peat extraction in Canada, when key decisions were made to ensure the industry’s sustainability. On the other side of the Atlantic, the actions of British peat producers were damaging their industry’s reputation, and something had to be done to prevent the Canadian industry from suffering the consequences.

The case discusses the major challenges faced by companies and industrial sectors whose practices are questioned: achieving social acceptability, preventing and managing controversy, and maintaining legitimacy.

Primary domain : 
Business ethics  - Corporate social responsibility
Secondary domain : 
Management  - Strategy
Sectors : 
  • Energy and raw materials,
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
Source : 
Elsewhere
Type : 
Traditional case (Descriptive or analytical case)
Type of data used in the production of the case : 
Factual data that is public and free of potentially litigious content
Event location : 
Canada
Year of start of the event : 
1990
Year the event ended : 
Not available
Business size : 
Not applicable

L’étude de ce cas permettra aux étudiants de :

  • se familiariser avec les spécificités d’une association industrielle en présence d’enjeux environnementaux, sociaux et économiques 
  • analyser et comprendre des enjeux environnementaux, sociaux et économiques liés à l’acceptabilité sociale 
  • développer des habiletés à adopter des perspectives multiples 
  • développer des habiletés à recommander des stratégies d’engagement pertinentes entre les parties prenantes d’une industrie et d’autres acteurs

The case will enable students to do the following:

  • understand the environmental, social, and economic issues facing a trade association
  • understand the environmental, social, and economic issues related to social acceptability
  • approach a challenge from several different angles
  • develop and propose engagement strategies for industry stakeholders and other players