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Business Diplomacy: Shaping firm’s geopolitical risk environment

15 Oct 2014 - 16:15
Bron: cc / Flickr / Kevin Lau

In the 21st century firms, large and small, increasingly have to operate in foreign markets. This process of internationalization opens them up to geopolitical and other non-commercial risks in an unstable and unpredictable international environment. Business Diplomacy (BD) seeks to adapt the skills and mind-set of the government diplomat to the needs of the firm. It facilitates the exchange of best practice in the analysis and management of geopolitical risk between government and the private sector. Business Diplomacy centers on the strategic use of coalitions of state and non-state actors to shape the firm’s geopolitical risk environment. While larger firms should develop their own in-house BD capabilities, smaller firms will BD support from external consultancies or other institutions.

Read the full policy brief here.