Engagement in innovation management: Perceptions and interests in the GM debate¹

The development of a technology and the innovations based on that technology usually affect stakeholders who have different perceptions and interests. Key issues in the company's engagement with these stakeholders are information and negotiation. Engagement is an ongoing process during which perceptions as well as interests may change. In this article it is argued that knowing the nature of interests and perceptions of the involved parties at a certain critical point leads to possible ways of engagement which in turn may help creating a satisfying outcome of the innovation process. First, information is necessary to change perceptions, and second, negotiation is necessary to accommodate interests. Two examples from the biotechnology industries (genetically modified (GM) crops) are used to demonstrate that perceptions and interests are the key factors in driving the engagement process between a company and its stakeholders, and communication in the engagement process should emphasize giving information and/or negotiation, depending on the nature of perceptions and interests.