Stakeholder Influence Strategies: The Roles of Structural and Demographic Determinants

Using Frooman’s typology of stakeholder influence strategies, this research examines the strategies that stakeholders select to exert influence on a firm. Using an experimental approach, the responses of actual environmental leaders to a series of hypothetical vignettes were examined. The results of the experiment suggest how both structural and demographic variables can act as determinants of strategy choice along with how these two types of variables may both complement and inhibit one another. Specifically, the results suggest that repertoires of strategies play a critical role in stakeholder behavior. Demographic variables appear to define the repertoires of strategies the stakeholder will typically choose among, whereas structural variables further refine choice from within that repertoire.