Stakeholder Theory
The State of the Art

A critical examination of stakeholder theory and its relevance for our understanding of modern business.

R. Edward Freeman (Author), Jeffrey S. Harrison (Author), Andrew C. Wicks (Author), Bidhan L. Parmar (Author), Simone de Colle (Author)

9780521137935, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 1 April 2010

362 pages, 5 b/w illus.
24.6 x 17.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.72 kg

'Ed Freeman and his colleagues have produced an erudite, subtle, vigorously argued account of stakeholder theory. Their provocative book will not be the last word on the subject, but it is the best contribution so far to an extraordinarily important conversation.' Edwin Hartman, New York University

In 1984, R. Edward Freeman published his landmark book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, a work that set the agenda for what we now call stakeholder theory. In the intervening years, the literature on stakeholder theory has become vast and diverse. This book examines this body of research and assesses its relevance for our understanding of modern business. Beginning with a discussion of the origins and development of stakeholder theory, it shows how this corpus of theory has influenced a variety of different fields, including strategic management, finance, accounting, management, marketing, law, health care, public policy, and environment. It also features in-depth discussions of two important areas that stakeholder theory has helped to shape and define: business ethics and corporate social responsibility. The book concludes by arguing that we should re-frame capitalism in the terms of stakeholder theory so that we come to see business as creating value for stakeholders.

List of figures
Acknowledgements
Preface
Part I. The Genesis of Stakeholder Theory: 1. The problems that stakeholder theory tries to solve
2. The development of stakeholder theory: a brief history
3. Stakeholder theory, pragmatism, and method
Part II. Stakeholder Theory and the Traditional Disciplines of Business: 4. Stakeholder theory and strategic management
5. Stakeholder theory in finance, accounting, management and marketing
6. Stakeholder theory in law, health care, public policy and environment
Part III. Stakeholder Theory, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): 7. Stakeholder theory and business ethics
8. Stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Part IV. Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Possibilities: 9. Stakeholder theory and capitalism
10. Questions on the horizon
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Business strategy [KJC]