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Case Study

Transforming the global fishing industry: The marine Stewardship Council at full sail?

By Ulrich Steger, Alexander Nick, Oliver Salzmann and Aileen Ionescu-Somers

12 pages

August 2006

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Reference: IMD-2-0083

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an NGO –headquartered in London and established by WWF and Unilever in 1997 to set up a certification and eco-labelling system for sustainable fishing. The case describes the MSC’s initial and more recent challenges including the Tragedy of the Commons, a wide range of less willing stakeholders, and the complexity of certifying fisheries on sustainability criteria. It also outlines management decisions to meet at least some of the challenges: improved transparency and engagement with stakeholders, new governance structures and certification methodologies.

Learning Objective

Participants should 1) see the challenges associated with the certification of sustainable business practices (in general and in fisheries in particular); 2) reflect on the institutional dilemma presented by the wide range of often conflicting stakeholder demands; 3) see the necessity to carry out strategic (i.e. focused) stakeholder engagement (find the most important allies) and establish effective governance structures.

Keywords

Certification, Fishery, Non-Governmental Organization, Stakeholder Management, Corporate Sustainability Management

Settings

1997-2006

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note, Video

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2010 ECCH AWARD WINNER (Economics, Politics & Business Environment)

This case study is part of a series

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