Management of Rural Water Services in Nicaragua: A Systematic Network Approach to Evaluating Stakeholder Alignment

Water sector literature attributes a substantial cause of rural water system failure in developing countries to poor alignment between water service stakeholders. This study aimed to investigate a means for assessing stakeholder alignment by comparing the systemic interaction of stakeholder values, where the term ‘stakeholder values’ refers to aspects stakeholders believe are necessary to ensure rural water services are sustainable. The research held focus groups with key stakeholder groups involved in the management of rural water infrastructure in Terrabona, Nicaragua, to identify stakeholder values, and then used cross-impact analysis to evaluate how these values interacted to form stakeholder value networks (SVNs). Using normalized betweenness centrality measures, the structures of SVNs were compared to determine alignment. Results from this study showed high levels of stakeholder alignment on the topics of water resources and technology for the sustainability of rural water systems, while there was marked nonalignment regarding the involvement of local government and organizations in the management of water infrastructure. This study offers compelling evidence for future studies to assess stakeholder alignment by identifying and structurally analyzing SVNs

Stakeholder engagement as a facilitator of organizational learning

This paper examines the relationship between stakeholder engagement and competence building. Following the dual perspective of the firm, which indicated that managers deal with both transactions and competences concurrently, we argue that stakeholder interactions also concern both transaction cost reduction and value creation. Based on a review of the extant literature, we incorporated a micro-macro connection between organizational learning and competence building. Further to this, we developed a conceptual framework by linking stakeholder engagement and organizational learning. This framework demonstrates that stakeholder relations may have significant effects on organizational learning and thus stakeholder engagement can play the role of facilitator in building firm competences

'To hell with it': a case study examination of organisational trustworthiness, and dependent stakeholder-organisation relations in the Milaki plant

This paper investigates trust worthiness and dependent stakeholder relations with a contextualised case-study of the Milaki plant in Greece, owned and operated by a multinational concrete aggregates firm. We investigate the opinions of community stakeholders concerning operational decisions made by the case-study firm in multiple challenging contexts (e.g. the Greek economic recession). We focus on the community stakeholder with regard to trustworthiness of the firm i.e. ability, integrity and benevolence (Mayer et al., 1995). With this novel emphasis on the dependent (less powerful) stakeholder of the local community, we can make a contribution by bringing together the stakeholder literature with the literature on trust (Greenwood and Van Buren, 2010). How organisational trustworthiness unfolds in the organisation-stakeholder relationship is under-researched, especially in challenging contexts. This focus enables us to shed light upon how decisions perceived as ethically questionable by the community, and which potentially breach trust, change the dynamic of dependent-stakeholder to organisation relationship. The imp act of this change and the subsequent implications of it for the stakeholder-organisation relationship will be explored in the full paper

Stakeholder capitalism, corporate governance and firm value

We consider the advantages and disadvantages of stakeholder-oriented firms that are concerned with employees and suppliers as well as shareholders compared to shareholder-oriented firms. Societies with stakeholder-oriented firms have higher prices, lower output, and can have greater firm value than shareholder-oriented societies. In some circumstances, firms may voluntarily choose to be stakeholder-oriented because this increases their value. Consumers that prefer to buy from stakeholder firms can also enforce a stakeholder society. With globalization entry by stakeholder firms is relatively more attractive than entry by shareholder firms for all societies. JEL Classification: D02, D21, G34, L13, L2

Sustainability Standards and Stakeholder Engagement: Lessons From Carbon Markets

Stakeholders play an increasingly active role in private governance, including development of standards for measuring sustainability. Building on prior studies focused on standards and stakeholder engagement, we use an innovation management theoretical lens to compare stakeholder engagement and standards developed in two carbon markets: the Climate Action Reserve and the U.N.’s Clean Development Mechanism. We develop and test hypotheses regarding how different processes of stakeholder engagement in standard development affect the number, identity, and age of stakeholders involved, as well as the variation and quality of the resulting standards. In doing so, we contribute to the growing literature on stakeholder engagement in developing sustainability standards

Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas. A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation

This paper attempts to gain a deeper understanding of the firm's ability for integrating stakeholder insights into the process of organisational innovation within the context of sustainable development. Given the early stage of empirical research on the topic, we used an exploratory case study method of two Spanish companies that have successfully learned from stakeholder dialogue and have generated innovations that are both beneficial for the company and for sustainable development in general. The evidence from the two case studies suggests the existence of two simple capabilities - stakeholder dialogue and stakeholder knowledge integration - for generating innovations in accordance with stakeholder needs. Whereas stakeholder dialogue leverages organisational resources that promote two-way communication, transparency and appropriate feedback to stakeholders, stakeholder knowledge integration relies on non-hierarchical structures, flexibility and openness to change. The paper sheds some light on the under-researched issue of linking stakeholder dialogue and sustainable innovation, and contributes to opening the 'black box' of dynamic capabilities and advancing in the understanding of this fundamental organisational concept.sustainable development; stakeholders; innovation; capabilities;

Who or What Really Counts in a Firm’s Stakeholder Environment: An Investigation of Stakeholder Prioritization and Reporting

Following the line of thinking that a firm is a nexus of contracts between stakeholders, with managers as “the central node” (Hills and Jones, 1992), this study examined how managers prioritize stakeholder relationships and to what extent firms engage in voluntary disclosure with the stakeholder group they deem to be important. Data was simultaneously collected from two different national business contexts, Italy and the US. Results of the study show that the power, legitimacy, and urgency that managers associate with various stakeholder groups cumulatively determine how they go about prioritizing competing stakeholder claims. The results also provide evidence to the effect that the more importance a firm attaches to a stakeholder group, the greater the level of interaction between the firm and the stakeholder group, as evidenced in the information reported by the firm in its disclosures.Stakeholder management, voluntary disclosures, cross-cultural differences, stakeholder engagement, prioritizing stakeholder claims, stakeholder dialogue

The relevance of specific csfs for stakeholders during ERP implementation: an empirical study from Oman

The success of ERP systems implementation is affected by the extent to which stakeholders have been prepared for the project activities and its outcomes. Stakeholders’ preparation needs change as the ERP implementation lifecycle progresses and varies across stakeholder groups. Therefore a dynamic model is needed for such preparation. However such a model needs to reflect the relevance of different CSFs to different stakeholder groups at different stages of the ERP implementation life-cycle. This study examines empirical evidence from a survey conducted in Omani organisations to determine what these individual CSFs are and how they are distributed across the ERP implementation life-cycle for different stakeholder groups. The CSFs included in the survey were derived from a structured review of literature. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents representing different ERP stakeholders groups, all respondents had both experience and knowledge of ERP implementations. The survey data are analysed and the distribution of relevant CSFs across the ERP lifecycle for the different stakeholder groups are presente

Stakeholder orientation and organizational performance in an emerging market

There has been research that studies Chinese firms’ stakeholder orientation but fails to identify Chinese firms’ specific stakeholder groups. In addition, little research in this line has been conducted so far to reflect recent Chinese constitutional transition. This study seeks to fill these gaps. It extends previous studies assuming that a fixed set of stakeholders is suitable for firms in different countries context, and identifies Chinese firms’ key stakeholder groups by adopting the descriptive approach of stakeholder theory. Based on this identification, the authors further examine how these stakeholder orientations influence organizational performance and how they interact. Interviews with managers from 107 firms show that customer, employee, shareholder, supplier, and competitors are perceived as Chinese firms’ most important stakeholders; empirical studies using data collected from 307 Chinese firms reveal that orientations towards these stakeholders enhance organizational performance. Moreover, there are synergy effects existing among customer orientation, supplier orientation, and competitor orientation, and between customer orientation and competitor orientation, while shareholder orientation has significant hindering effects upon competitor orientation as a reflection of recent institutional changes taking place in China