Mapping stakeholders

Dr Tasos Theofilou
 Overview
• Situation analysis

• Stakeholders (vs Publics)

• Example
 General EnvironmentFactors (PEST vs PESTLE):
• PEST Analysis: P – Political
 The current and potential influences from
• A useful tool for
political pressures
understanding the “big E - Economic
picture” of the environment  The local, national and world economic impact

S - Sociological
in which you are operating  The ways in which changes in society affect the
• Provides the context within project
which more detailed T - Technological
 How new and emerging technology affects our
planning can take place to project / organization
take full advantage of the L - Legal (related to political factor)
opportunities that present  How local, national and global legislation affects
the project
themselves E - Environmental (related to political factor)
 Local, national and global environmental issues
 General EnvironmentBUSINESS STRENGTHS BUSINESS WEAKNESSES
• SWOT Analysis:
• Helps to capture all those (you have control) (you have control)
external influences that may These are the core skills, abilities, These are limitations (or skills gap)
affect your business talents or advantages that you that you have or areas that you
have that other competitors don’t. need to improve on in order to be
• Helps to identify any gaps in
This could be in the form of more competitive within the
the market – competitor
people skills, technology, product market you operate in.
weaknesses or new quality etc.
opportunities that could have What can I do to maximise the strengths? What can I do to turn the weaknesses into
opened up, where the positives or strengths?
opportunity hasn’t yet been MARKET OPPORTUNITIES MARKET THREATS
maximised (you have no control) (you have no control)
• Establishes your current This is normally a gap that you see This can be from competitors,
position, within the overall in the market, this often happens customers, market conditions,
market, and whether or not when there is a change in market changes in technology or
this needs to shift conditions government legislation
What can I do to take advantage of the How will these threats affect my business &
• Gives you a snapshot opportunities? how can I work around this?
indication of what makes you
different (your USP) and how
you can improve on where
you are
Stakeholder : key concept

Any group or individual who

can affect or is affected by
the achievement of the
organization’s objectives
 Stakeholder management
• Neo-classical theory:
– purpose of organizations is to make profits
– accountable to themselves and shareholders

• Ethical & Normative views :

– other groups besides shareholders count
– accountability extends to groups considered to
be important for the continuity of the
organization and the welfare of society
 Neo-classic model
Investors

Suppliers Customers
ORGANIZATION

Employees
 Stakeholder model of strategic
management (ethical)

Governments Investors Political Groups

Suppliers ORGANIZATION Customers

Trade Employees Communities

Associations
 The nature of stakes and
stakeholders
– Stakeholder: any group or individual who can
affect or is affected by the achievement of the
organization’s purpose and objectives (Freeman,
1984)
– Stake: ‘an interest or a share in an undertaking,
[that] can range from simply an interest in an
undertaking at one extreme to a legal claim of
ownership at the other extreme’ (Carroll, A.B.,
1996)
 Types of stakes
Types of stakes Description Example

Equity stakes Held by those Shareholders, directors,

with direct minority interest owners
ownership

Economic or Those who have Employees, customers,

market stakes an economic suppliers, competitors
interest, but not
an ownership
interest
Influencer stakes Neither equity or Consumer advocates,
economic stake environmental groups,
but have trade organizations,
interests government agencies

(Freeman, 1984)
 Types of stakeholders
Type of Description Example
stakeholder

Primary Without their continued participation Employees

Stakeholder the organization cannot survive Suppliers
Consumers

Secondary Can generally influence or affect, or Media

Stakeholder are influenced or affected by the Special interest groups
organization but are not engaged in
financial transactions
Do have a moral/normative interest
Capacity to mobilize public opinion for
or again organization

Cornelissen, 2017
 Alternative stakeholder
conceptualization

Contractual stakeholders Community stakeholders

Customers Consumers

Employees Regulators

Distributors Government

Suppliers Media

Shareholders Local communities

Lenders Pressure groups

Clarkham, 1992
 PUBLIC OPINION*

Public opinion can be defined in

many ways, but most researchers
agree that public opinion is the
collected views of select individuals
interested in a particular subject.

Norrander, B., & Wilcox, C. (2002), Understanding public opinion (2nd ed.), Washington,
DC: CQ Press
 PUBLIC OPINION
Can public opinion change?

- Scandals
- Unpredictable events
- Mass Media
- Evolution
Let’s get funny with terminology but
let’s not get confused……

Public = Audiences

Public = Stakeholder

Public ∈ Stakeholder

Freeman (1987) defined stakeholders as any

individual or group that impacts or is impacted by the
actions of organizations. Researchers agree that
stakeholders can be located both within and outside the
organization.

Publics are specific groups of people who are linked by a common interest
or problem.
Employees are a public, but families are a
stakeholder group.
 Clustering the “groups”
- Local Community
- Opinion Formers
- Government
- Media
- Investors (Financial
Community/Shareholders)
- Consumers
- Employees
- Suppliers
 Clustering the “groups”
Internal Publics
- Employees (MAIN FOCUS)

External Publics
- Community
- Opinion Formers
- Government
- Media (Don’t Miss NEXT Lecture!!)
- Investors
- Consumers
 Community
• Neighbours of organisation
• Activities of the organisation may have affect on the community
(pollution, noise, tasteless buildings)
• PR is about building relationships
• Organisation supports: local theatres, music festivals, sport events,
building of churches, hospitals, schools etc
Examples
Responsible Business | Community Investment & Corporate Governance
 Employees
• Strong Employee Relations = Solid organizations
• Tactics: Intranet, online communications (email, voice mail,
blogs), suggestion box, internal video, print publications
(newsletter) , face-to-face communication

Example of internal video

The most realistic video calls ever | Project Starline Prototype
 Opinion formers
• Can be groups of parents, academics, politicians,
commentators, journalists, spiritual leaders, officials of
society etc
• Influential people….really important to PR
• Not apathetic groups
• Significant role in “Word of Mouth”
• Examples…from spiritual leaders to
TIME100: The Most Influential People of 2024 | TIME
 Investors / financial market
• Globalisation, Audits, Economic Crisis, Deregulation of
share dealing etc
• Shareholders
• Investors
• Banks
Example https://www.hitachi.com/IR-e/
 Government affairs
• The practice of lobbying is defined as monitoring public
policy-making for a group interest, building a case in
favour of that interest, and putting it privately with
varying degrees of pressure to public decision-makers
for their acceptance and support through favourable
political intervention. (Moloney 1997)

U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker – ASH > Action on Smoking & Health

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/
12/us-climate-bill-oil-gas
 Consumer Relations
PR :
1. Supports sales in a more holistic manner
2. (a) Building awareness – (b) making knowledge – (c) building favourability

Examples:
1. Apple – Product Launch Events
Apple’s keynote presentations (e.g., iPhone launches) generate massive media coverage and excitement,
positioning the company as an industry leader.
Example: The iPhone 15 event reached millions globally through live-streaming and news coverage.

2. Nike – Social Activism Campaigns

Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick took a bold stand on social justice, sparking discussions
worldwide.
Result: Increased brand loyalty and a 31% boost in online sales.

3. Coca-Cola – “Share a Coke” Campaign

A personalized marketing campaign that replaced the Coke logo with popular first names.
Result: Increased global sales, social media engagement, and millions of user-generated posts
 Characteristics
• Homogeneity : group of people linked with common
interest / problem

• Importance : whether or not they may have an impact to

the company

• Size : The more the merrier

• Accessibility : are they reachable? difficulties…

 Identification and development of publics
1. relationship to the organization (stakeholder stage)

2. relationship to the situation (public stage)

3. relationship to the public relations strategy (issue

stage)

James E. Grunig & Fred Repper

Basic stakeholder identification analysis

1. Who are the organization’s stakeholders?

2. What are their stakes?

3. What opportunities and challenges are presented

to the organization in relation to these
stakeholders?
4. What responsibilities (economic, legal, ethical,
and philanthropic) does the organization have to all
its stakeholders?
5. In what way can the organization best
communicate with and respond to these
stakeholders and address these stakeholder
challenges and opportunities?
 Organization–stakeholder
communication models
Informational strategy: one-way symmetrical model of communication

ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDER

Persuasive strategy: two-way asymmetrical model of communication

ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDER

Feedback

Dialogue strategy: two-way symmetrical model of communication

ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDER

Cornelissen, 2017
Characteristics of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ approaches to
organization–stakeholder relationships
 Stakeholder communication:
From awareness to commitment
Example of classifying stakeholders
The usefulness of the typology is
demonstrated by offering specific segmentation
strategies for each classification. Finally,
directions for future research are presented.
Thinking of football fans or basketball fans

• Could you make an effort in to classify them ?

 Instead of brainstorming*
• Let’s see do some research:

Classification scheme the source of

temporary and local fans' motivation is
situational,
while the source of motivation for devoted,
fanatical, and dysfunctional fans is
enduring
 Managerial implications?
That is why we do it!
- Managerial implications…
- Recommendations
- Targeted strategy and tactics
Stakeholders “extras”
TV
Radio Press BP Stakeholder Map
Government
Media

Employees Joint-venture
partners

BP
Customers
Suppliers Trade unions

ICC Church
Shareholders
UN Academia
Investors Pressure
International
OECD Bodies groups
Public
Opinion Environment
ASEAN EU
International national
 Stakeholder Communication

• Some companies and other organizations are well known

for their ability to conduct a truly integrated communication
campaign designed to get the message across even though it
is tailored to various stakeholders. Not only is the matter
one of providing a coherent and consistent message that fosters
an understanding of the company as its management and
employees want it to be understood, but it also means that key
audiences are addressed in terms of the stake each of them
holds with regard to the organization.
• (Heath, 1994: 55)
 Stakeholder Identification
• Central questions:
• (1) Who are the organization’s stakeholders?
• (2) What are their stakes?
• (3) What opportunities and challenges are presented to
the organization in relation to these stakeholders?
• (4) What responsibilities (economic, legal and ethical)
does the organization have to all its stakeholders?
• (5) In what way can the organization best communicate
with and respond to these stakeholders and address
these stakeholder challenges and opportunities?
Stakeholder salience model

POWER LEGITIMACY

Dormant
stakeholder Dominant Discretionary
stakeholder stakeholder

Definitive
stakeholder

Dangerous Dependent
stakeholder stakeholder

Non-stakeholder

Demanding
stakeholder
URGENCY
•  Dominant and definitive stakeholders: ongoing
communication (e.g., newsletters, corporate events,
intranet for employees, advertising and promotional
campaigns for customers and financial reports, investor
briefings and the annual general meeting for shareholders)
 Communicate with dependent (community) and
dangerous stakeholders on ad hoc basis
 Organizations typically do not (need to) communicate on
an ongoing basis with latent stakeholder groups including
dormant (inactive), demanding and discretionary
stakeholders.
• Power-interest matrix

A B
Low Minimal Keep
Effort Informed

Power
5
C D
Keep
High Satisfied Key Players

10

0 5 10
Low High
Level of Interest
 Communication Models

• Key decisions based on identification:

» Importance of stakeholders and their claims for the

organization
» Do stakeholders need to be kept informed or actively
communicated with?  communication strategy
 Stakeholder communication models

Stakeholder awareness understanding involvement commitment

effects

Tactics Newsletters Discussions Consultation Early

Reports Meetings Debate incorporation
Memos Advertising and Collective
Free publicity educational problem-
campaigns solving

Type of Informational Informational/ Dialogue strategy

strategy strategy persuasive strategy
 Stakeholder Communication Models

» Informational strategy is simply a strategy of informing someone

about something. Press releases, newsletters and reports on a
company website are often simply meant to make information
available about the organization to its stakeholders.
» Persuasive strategy; a strategy where an organization through
campaigns, meetings and discussions with stakeholders tries to
change and tune the knowledge, attitude, and behaviours of
stakeholders in a way that is favourable to the organization.
Corporate advertising and educational campaigns, for example,
are often used to create a favourable image for the organization
and to ‘sell’ a particular kind of understanding of the
organization’s decisions, its corporate values and its products
and services.
» Dialogue strategy in which both parties (organizations and
stakeholders) mutually engage in an exchange of ideas and
opinions. A dialogue strategy involves an active consultation of
stakeholders and an incorporation of important stakeholders into
the organization’s decision-making.
 Finally
• any questions ?!?!