Mapping stakeholder theory anew: from the ‘stakeholder theory of the firm’ to three perspectives on business-society relations

Stakeholder theory has evolved from a corporate-centric perspective into a more comprehensive research field, which addresses business–society relations from various points of view. To reflect on and to guide such theoretical developments is the purpose of second-order theories. However, the second-order stakeholder theories developed so far do not mirror the full spectrum of the stakeholder research field. This paper tries to fill this gap with a triple-perspective typology of stakeholder theory. It shows that the issue of stakeholder management can be approached from a corporate, a stakeholder or a conceptual point of view. The corporate perspective focuses on how corporations deal with stakeholders, the stakeholder perspective analyses how stakeholders try to influence corporations and the conceptual perspective explores how particular concepts, such as ‘the common good’ or sustainable development, relate to business–stakeholder interactions. In addition, the triple-perspective typology incorporates the influential second-order theory of Donaldson and Preston and shows that each of the three perspectives features a normative, a descriptive and an instrumental aspect. Consequently, the typology presented here depicts nine ideal-typical stakeholder research approaches, each of them approximating business–society relations in a unique way. Mapping stakeholder theory anew can advance stakeholder research beyond its current limitations by raising awareness for neglected research approaches and issues. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.