Stakeholder Concept
The English term Stakeholder designates a person, group or entity with legitimate interests in the actions and performance of an organization and which decisions and attitudes may affect, direct or indirectly, that other organization. Are included in the Stakeholders the employees, managers, owners, suppliers, clients, creditors, State (while tax and regulatory authority), unions and several other people or entities that relate with the company.
There are several ways to classify the different stakeholders, although the most common is the classification of internals and externals.
K. MITCHEL, Bradley R. AGLE and Donna J. WOOD, in Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience distinguish seven types of stakeholders which are classified in:
- Asleep Stakeholder: Is the one whom has the power to impose its will in the organization, although doesn’t have legitimacy or urgency and therefore his power will be in disuse, having little or none interaction with the company. Meanwhile, management must know stakeholder to monitor his potential to achieve a second attribute.
- Arbitrary Stakeholder: Is the one that has legitimacy, but doesn’t have the power to influence the company and doesn’t even claim urgency. The attention that should be given to that interested part is in respect to the corporative social responsibility, since they tend to be more receptive.
- Claimer Stakeholder: When the most important attribute in the administration is the urgency, he is a claimer. Without power or legitimacy, they should not disturb so much the company, however they should be monitored as to the potential of obtaining a second attribute.
- Dominant Stakeholder: Is the one that has his influence in the company assured by the power and legitimacy. Waits and receives a lot of attention from the company.
- Dangerous Stakeholder: When exists power and urgency, however doesn’t exist legitimacy, what exists is a coercive and possibly violent stakeholder for the organization, what can be a danger, literally.
- Dependent Stakeholder: Is the one, who has claims with urgency and legitimacy, however depends from the power of another stakeholder to see their demands taken into consideration.
- Definitive Stakeholder: When the stakeholder has power and legitimacy he basically already sets himself as definitive. When, beyond that he claims urgency, the managers should give immediate and prioritized attention to this.
