This paper investigates how organizations respond when they are compelled by external mandates, rather than managerial choice, to open their strategy-making practice. While prior studies focus on voluntarily adopting open strategy for collaborative advantages, we explore how forced openness emerges under regulatory pressure and what distinct challenges and benefits it brings. We use a multiple-case design supplemented by Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to examine ten European companies conducting mandatory ESG materiality assessments. We find that external pressure, organizational setup, and practitioner mindsets combine in different ways to yield deep or surface-level stakeholder inclusion. By discussing how forced openness can still yield strategic benefits, we extend strategy research to include settings where openness is mandated rather than chosen.
