Who are stakeholders?

“Stakeholders are the individuals and groups who can affect the vision and mission of the firm, are affected by the strategic outcomes achieved, and have enforceable claims on a firm’s performance” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2009, p. 20).

Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson (2009) state that, “stakeholders can be separated into three groups: Capital Market Stakeholders who consist of shareholders and major suppliers of a firm’s capital; Product Market Stakeholders who are the firm’s primary customers, suppliers, host communities, and unions representing the workforce; and Organizational Stakeholders who are all of a firm’s employees, including both nonmanagerial and managerial personnel” (p. 21).