Stakeholder dialogue is claimed to serve as effective means to peaceful cooperation between companies and its stakeholders. It is however known that businesses favour relations with customers and employees. Recent studies have criticised stakeholder approaches for ignoring political dimensions of dialogue and questions about power and for excluding marginalised stakeholders. The critique also suggests that dialogue takes part in majority languages and that stakeholder theory does not address the fundamental differences in worldviews between stakeholder approach and those marginalised, such as Indigenous peoples. Today, international agreements and financial institutions acknowledge Indigenous peoples as specific rights holders and have new guidelines on benefit sharing and on free prior and informed consent. Yet, the needs and demands of each Indigenous group vary greatly between geographical areas. The Arctic region is home for 400.000 Indigenous people from 50 nations. Meanwhile, the region attracts more economic interest and the development of economic activities should be based on the principles of sustainable development while respect the rights of Indigenous peoples. The aim of this research is to understand the particular needs of Indigenous peoples with the help of a case study located in the Arctic where business activities are currently being developed.

2021