S3 - Sustainable Stakeholder Strategy

The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of the role of stakeholders in a strategic management context. More specifically, to understand how the choice of stakeholders with whom the firm should engage and how the use of various strategic domains affect the generation of non- economic competitive advantages. The results suggest firms constrained by economic factors may pursue non- economic competition through the leveraging of political and social capital. A model relating stakeholder inclusion to three forms of competitive advantage is offered in addition to a typography and classification system for stakeholder strategies. Four metrics to measure stakeholder inclusion at the business unit of analysis are also proposed. This study validates stakeholder theory as it pertains to the issues of inclusion and competitive advantage and extends it to include non-economic methods of enhancing firm performance. For corporate decision makers, it offers a means of identifying, evaluating and improving business strategy.