Q&A - What are stakeholders?

A stakeholder is anyone who has a vested interest in the activities and decision making of a business.

Stakeholders include:

• Shareholders or business owners
• Managers & employees
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Banks and other finance providers
• Government
• Local community
• Other external groups (e.g. pressure groups)
• Competitors
• The media

Various factors affect how many stakeholders a business has and the strength of their interest and influence. These factors include:

The size and scale of the business: for example, a small, sole-trader service business will have relatively few stakeholders. Contrast this with a much larger, complex business like a national supermarket chain like Asda which has thousands of employees, operates in numerous locations and is an important customer to hundreds of suppliers.

The nature of the product or service: some products are more likely to attract the attention of stakeholders. For example, a manufacturing business that has high levels of carbon emissions or waste packaging will be scrutinised much closer than a simple service business. The local community will have a greater interest in a business that is a major local employer than in a one-man band.