What Are Stakeholders?

Who are stakeholders?

Company stakeholders include shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, creditors, communities, and government agencies. Many investors and corporate leaders add the environment to that list as well.

Some stakeholders are internal and others are external to the organization. Internal stakeholders, such as employees and shareholders, represent the company directly and have a personal interest in the company's success.

External stakeholders have less direct ties to the company. Suppliers, for example, might make more as the company grows, but they usually also have other sources of revenue and profits. The same is true for distributors and creditors. Communities also benefit as a company adds new jobs, but the local quality of life is affected by many other factors.

Stakeholders and corporate priorities

Stakeholders play a role in every corporate decision. Employees, leaders, and board members make those decisions, of course. But stakeholder influence goes well beyond that. Corporate decision-makers routinely consider how the company's actions will affect shareholders, customers, local communities, and others.

One challenge is that the various stakeholder groups can have conflicting needs. Some examples of stakeholder conflict include:

• Employees vs. shareholders: An organization can show higher profits for shareholders by minimizing the investment in its workforce. This can take many forms, from salary reductions to a below-market compensation structure. It can get even darker, too. A 2021 report by The New York Times alleged Amazon (AMZN -1.70%) was routinely paying employees less than they'd earned.
• Customers vs. shareholders: Customers want a high-quality product, but quality can be expensive, and expenses cut into shareholder profits. In the 1970s, Ford Motor (F -0.76%) chose not to repair a faulty gas tank in its Pinto model after crash tests revealed a safety risk. Why? Because a cost-benefit analysis concluded that settling customer lawsuits would be less expensive than fixing the Pinto. Dozens of people died or were injured by the Pinto's exploding gas tank .
• Customers vs. employees: On a more granular level, frontline employees face the potential for conflict with customers every day. A petty disagreement can sometimes spiral into violence. When that happens, the company must pick a side, and the wrong choice could easily damage employee satisfaction and productivity. In 2019, a brawl between an employee and a customer broke out in a McDonald's (MCD +0.64%) restaurant in Florida. The customer was escorted out and arrested on battery charges. McDonald's subsequently said in a statement that it was cooperating with the police investigation, adding, "Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees and customers at our restaurants." The statement referenced both stakeholder groups, but employees were noted first.

Stakeholders and corporate decision-making

Understanding how a company prioritizes its stakeholders tells you a lot about how the leadership team makes decisions. If shareholders are the priority without exception, then the business may be pursuing profits at all costs. Employees, customers, and local communities could suffer as a result.

Thankfully, corporate decision-making isn't often that black and white. A company can pursue profits while:

• Taking care of its employees
• Producing safe, value-rich products
• Providing decent margins to its suppliers
• Protecting the environment
• Contributing positively to society at large

Some argue that this balanced approach to stakeholder needs ultimately serves the shareholder better because it's a more sustainable way of doing business. That should translate to improved shareholder returns over the long term. This is the idea behind stakeholder capitalism, a fundamental concept in ESG investing.

Salesforce (CRM -2.92%): A broader view of stakeholders

Software company Salesforce holds itself accountable to a broad set of stakeholders, including "shareholders, customers, employees, partners, the planet and the communities in which we work and live ."

To that end, the company annually publishes its Stakeholder Impact Report. The report outlines key initiatives in emissions, renewable energy adoption, workforce diversity and development, philanthropy, and data privacy. The 2022 fiscal year report touched on programs such as:

• The donation of 60 million pieces of personal protective equipment to communities in need.
• The use of the Salesforce platform to manage the administration of 150 million COVID-19 vaccines.
• The donation of $22 million over seven years to promote equal pay for all genders and races.
• A deliberate 50% increase in spending with Black-owned companies.
• The achievement of net-zero residual emissions across sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing.
• The launch of new mental health benefits for employees and expanded delivery of employee development programs.
• Efforts to lobby for regulation that would standardize best practices for data privacy.

The company's perspective on stakeholders heavily influences its programs and initiatives, which go beyond the core task of making money. However, Salesforce does that, too, achieving record revenue, cash flow, and operating margin during the most recent fiscal year.