Stakeholders

A stakeholder is a person, group or organisation with an interest in a business. What the business does affects them, and they can influence it in return — which is why businesses consider their views when making decisions.

Internal and external stakeholders

Stakeholders sit either inside the business or outside it.

Why stakeholders matter

Each group has its own objectives — what it wants from the business. Owners usually want profit, employees want fair pay and secure work, customers want low prices and good quality, and the local community wants jobs without nuisance such as traffic or noise. Because these aims are different, a business has to work out which groups a decision will affect and how they are likely to react.

For example, a chain of indoor climbing centres plans to open a new site. The owners want a good return on their investment, managers want the site to run smoothly, and instructors want safe conditions and reliable hours. Local residents care about traffic and noise, and the council applies planning rules. The business weighs up these interests because stakeholders can back a decision — by investing, working hard or buying — or resist it, for example by complaining, campaigning or taking their money elsewhere.