Talk:Stakeholder Theory/RFC Draft

RFC: Stakeholder Theory and Stakeholder Capitalism

{{rfc|econ|soc}} What is the relationship between stakeholder capitalism and stakeholder theory?

A. They are terms that are used synonymously, and the article should so indicate, and stakeholder capitalism can continue to be a redirect to stakeholder theory.

B. Stakeholder theory is a subset of stakeholder capitalism, as explained in the subsection below. They are distinct concepts and require separate articles.

C. Stakeholder theory is a subset of stakeholder capitalism, as explained in the subsection below. They can both be discussed in separate sections of one article, which will be expanded to discuss the subset-superset relationship. The current redirect can be preserved.

D. Other - Please specify

Indicate your view on the question in the Survey with a brief statement. Do not reply to other editors in the Brief Explanatory Statements or in the Survey. Back-and-forth discussion is permitted in the Threaded Discussion.

Brief Explanatory Statements

Explanation of Subset-Superset Relationship

I would like to clarify that Stakeholder Capitalism is in fact an economic reform movement to enhance the effectiveness of Capitalism by addressing the needs of all stakeholders and the environment.

Stakeholder Theory, as the Wikipedia article clearly states, is simply one of many theories for organizational management.

While the term "stakeholder" is used in both instances, the two topics are actually quite different, as Stakeholder Capitalism is focused on a reform of the entire system of capitalism while the other is a theory for how to manage people more effectively in an organization.

Bolgerb1953 (talk) 13:19, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

I am not sure this is consistent with Wikipedia practices but I thought it made sense to go directly to the source: Edward Freeman, Professor at the Darden School, of U. Va. , is generally considered founder of Stakeholder Theory and Stakeholder Capitalism. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder_theory

By coincidence, he says he thought he had read the Stakeholder Capitalism entry before it was taken down and thought it was on target...More importantly:

While he is proud of being considered one of the founders of Stakeholder Capitalism, he will tell you that one is a Capitalism reform movement and one is a theory for organizational management that happens to support Stakeholder Capitalism, among other theories.

He will tell you that subsuming one under the other does a disservice to both and he says he's glad to be contacted: freemane@darden.virginia.edu

If there is any other procedure for him to weigh in, please advise.

Bolgerb1953 (talk) 17:49, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

These are terms that are used synonymously

These are two names for the same concept. The only sourced definition we have is from Investopedia, which defines Stakeholder capitalism as "a system in which corporations are oriented to serve the interests of all their stakeholders. Among the key stakeholders are customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and local communities." Stakeholder theory is defined by our article as "a theory of organizational management and business ethics that accounts for multiple constituencies impacted by business entities like employees, suppliers, local communities, creditors, and others." - the same thing. So, which name to use? Per this ngram link from google books, 'Stakeholder theory' is the common name. MrOllie (talk) 19:53, 14 September 2021 (UTC)