Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
12
The landscape of business and enterprise policy is subject
to almost unparalleled change. An ever-increasing major-
ity of corporate and institutional management boards find
themselves operating in a networked world of interests and
opportunities for influence. In addition to primary stakehold-
ers such as shareholders, customers, suppliers, and employees,
secondary and tertiary stakeholder groups are increasingly
making regulatory, social, political, and ethical demands on
businesses.
Public and social stakeholder groups are increasingly seek-
ing to bring their influence to bear on corporate decision
making and investment. Politicians have discovered social
risk-management and are increasing their regulatory re-
quirements on businesses and commercial sectors through
their legislative powers; NGOs draw attention to abuses and
irregularities by means of effective and high-quality media
campaigns. At the same time, the market place of public
opinion is going through fundamental and rapid changes: The
established media are beginning to lose their capacity to lead;
opinions are formed in ways that are more direct, digital, and
decentralized; and transparency and dialogue are the order
of the day for almost all businesses. Communications with
external as well as internal stakeholders rely increasingly on
substantive content, and close and resilient relationships with
stakeholders are an important factor for success in business.
By Klaus Lintemeier, Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher, and Dr. Ansgar Thiessen
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT –
An Introduction