Бизнес. Общество. Власть

The article introduces the concept of Corporate Diplomacy and examines how it is employed in Russia by German companies.

Although the concept of Corporate Diplomacy has been known in the Western community for decades, there is no common definition of it, what raises difficulties for researchers and brings confusion among professionals. In the article, we consider distinguished approaches to the understanding of Corporate Diplomacy in the foreign sources, as well as its vision in Russia, and came up with our own definition of Corporate Diplomacy that covers its broad multitasking and aligns with its practical understanding at the same time.

Russia, with its challenging business environment, creates auspicious conditions for the implementation of Corporate Diplomacy as a risk-mitigation and opportunity-creation tool. However, considering the fact that the Russian market is normally known for its weak institutions, poor governance, and high risks, there is a question of the efficiency of this instrument for business actors. 

Our survey, conducted with eleven representatives of German businesses, showed that there is no united understanding of the concept among the business community as well. However, the main focus of their Corporate Diplomacy agenda lies in lobbying, followed by Social Corporate Responsibility activities. The survey findings revealed that German companies are knowledgeable about and actively use Corporate Diplomacy tools in their day-to-day business operation.  The other positive outcome was that the participants evaluated very high the readiness of the Russian official bodies for open and fair dialogues with foreign investors, what led to the fact that all our respondents had had successful cases when employing Corporate Diplomacy.

The interest of German investors in the Russian market remains intact despite the existing obstacles and the seeming constraints. In fact, Russian and German partners are willing to listen to each other and create opportunities for fruitful business development, wherein Corporate Diplomacy plays one of the main roles in establishing a long-term, stable, and profitable partnership.