Core, Strategic and Environmental Stakeholders

The stakeholder mapping were categorized under the following criteria: core stakeholders: 10,000 MSMES. Strategic stakeholders: Otavalo Municipality (government and private organizations). Environmental Stakeholders: Otavalo Tourism Board, Artisans Associations and Inter American Development Bank.

In fact, the combination of actors playing different roles in different scenarios is well-recognized by the following concerns: i) lack of representativeness of project to establish dialogue with tourism/craft sector ii) lack of comprehension of values and principles of Kichwa-Otavalo ethnic to establish cooperation relations to enhance a effective process of dialogue (iii) lack of comprehension of policy problematic between Municipality and tourism sector to establish cooperation relations to enlace an effective process of dialogue.

From that perspective, a preliminary conclusion is that the stakeholder relations impact directly the project performance (leadership and knowledge transference) to make wise decisions. Thus, the challenge is establishing/sustaining a responsible dialogue with stakeholders to achieve business results. Simultaneously, establishing a win-to-win relation.

Once, the problematic has been set up, it has to be simplified to one common problem: non responsible dialogue with core, strategic and environmental stakeholders. The following step is to determine a stakeholder dialogue that guarantee an effective management of stakeholders (Stakeholder management) under economic, social and ethic considerations.

How will my client achieve? Basically from the CSR perspective that enables to i) stakeholder mapping, ii) analyzing stakeholder relations, iii) bring to the table of discussion values and principles of stakeholders to iv) designing a dialogue model that tackle the needs/concerns of stakeholders, enabling the establishment of a win-to-win relation that guarantee the activation of networks.

The CSR core premise is to recognize the value of stakeholder dialogue. This understanding will incorporate the stakeholder commitment in the center of CSR activities. In fact, it implies the idea that corporate values and principles are beyond of a simple exercise of informing stakeholders (one way communication). World Council of Sustainable Business, 2000.

Basically, the project has to afford a number of obstacles to establish/sustain a responsible dialogue practice in the mid/long term. The cooperation relation among MSMES, project and Municipality constitutes a complex/dynamic process based on the research findings, i) lack of comprehension of principles and values of stakeholders, particularly, principles and values of Kichwa-Otavalo. (Stuckart, 2008).

The stakeholder mapping determined, for instance, the cooperation style of Kichwa-Otavalo is understood once the minga concept comes to the table of discussion. This tradition promotes the solidarity and reduces the organizational division among communities, facilitating the dialogue and communitarian commitment (Stuckart, 2008).

However, they do not have the tradition to cooperate beyond the core family in Business activities. Stuckart (2008) enlightens this tradition under the negative perception indigenous people have towards obrajes in 1500, where Spanish slaved indigenous and brutally forced them to weave.

This look contributes to assimilate the resistance of indigenous artisans to cooperate beyond the family core and participate in the activation of business networks, to ultimately support competitiveness.

A first conclusion will be that the Project has not yet implement a dialogue model tailor-made to the needs/concerns of stakeholders to basically managing stakeholder relations (Stakeholder Management).

The World Council of Sustainable Business (2000) says that while an organization does not identify the value of stakeholder dialogue, it will not be able to activate a social responsible strategy. Furthermore, the success of a business strategy socially responsible will depend on the comprehension of principles and values of stakeholders.

In sum, the Project need to stakeholder zapping and then analyzing the stakeholder relations. So then, the project will be able to manage stakeholder relations and provide a social response to solve systematically a common problem.