Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
16
Stakeholder management has a resource problem
One indicator of the significance of a corporate function is
its financing, or the number of full-time staff posts assigned
to it. Roughly 40 percent of the firms surveyed have created
a full-time post for stakeholder management. A further 40
percent allocate between two and five posts to stakeholder
management.
Firms with higher annual turnover tend to allocate greater
resources to stakeholder management. The highest staffing
numbers are to be found in affiliate companies (33%), strategic
management holding companies (29%), and in autonomous
corporate divisions (14%). The number of full-time posts allo-
cated to stakeholder management in financial and intermediate
holding companies is just as small as that in sales and distri-
bution companies. The latter figure is particularly striking for
Switzerland, where multinational companies with local sales
and distribution subsidiaries are particularly well represented.
Systematic stakeholder management is not carried out in the
subsidiaries. The responsibility for this function usually remains
with the group holding company located abroad.
Around 10 percent of those firms with only one full-time post
have a turnover in excess of € 5 billion (4.16 million Swiss
Francs) and employ more than 10,000 workers. In these firms,
stakeholder management is either part of a broader corporate
function or is conceived as a temporary project.
All together, the number of full-time posts allocated to stake-
holder management, at between one and five, is small in
comparison with the number allocated to communications
and public affairs divisions. The increasing importance of
stakeholder management has not yet had a substantial impact
on staffing structures.
The management of stakeholder interests has only
limited positive impact on the implementation of
corporate plans
In 67 percent of the firms surveyed, stakeholder management
is understood as relationship management, as a strategic tool
providing a safeguard against corporate risks. In 64 percent
of the firms surveyed, it is employed in the building and
development of corporate reputations.
10
theses on the stakeholder management of
the future
In conclusion, we would like to put forward – as the quintessence of the findings of our
study – the following 10 theses on the future development of stakeholder management.
1.
The stakeholder approach goes well-beyond simple
reputation management.
2.
The early integration of stakeholders optimizes
corporate processes.
3.
Stakeholder management will become more closely
aligned with the supply chain.
4.
The organization of stakeholder management will be
professionalized, and interface problems will become
more complex.
5.
Firms will provide more explanations and
justifications for their decisions and plans.
6.
Firms will adapt the content of their mission
statements to the stakeholder approach.
7.
Stakeholder management will move away from its
focus on critical interest groups.
8.
Corporate communications will free itself from its
obsession with the media.
9.
Internal stakeholder communications will step out
of the shadow of external communications.
10.
There will be a convergence between normative and
strategic issues in corporate governance.