Responding to Stakeholders’ Critical Needs- The Integrative Model of Stakeholders’ Management (IMSM)

Grace S. Thomson, Nevada State College

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly required to enhance their accountability to diverse internal and external stakeholders (Burrows, 1999). Knowing and understanding stakeholders’ expectations increases the ability of an organization to effectively respond to those expectations. Stakeholder relationship management is critical for corporate sustainability (Perrini & Tencati, 2006) or “capacity of a firm to continue operating over a long period of time” (p. 296). Organizations may benefit from developing collaborative interactions with their stakeholders, integrating their values and views into the formulation and implementation of organizational goals and objectives (Merrick, Parnell, Barnett & Garcia, 2005; Susniene & Vanagas, 2006).

This document contains a proposal of an Integrative Model of Stakeholders’ Needs Management (IMSM) that addresses the following components: (1) identification of organization’ stakeholders, (2) analysis of stakeholders’ needs, stakes and influence, (3) assessment and prioritization of stakeholders’ needs, (4) dialogical or consensus-building process, (5) Integration of stakeholders’ needs to organizational strategy, (6) integrated information and reporting system, and (7) continual organizational learning and growth. The conceptual framework underlying the discussion in this document was extracted from both seminal work (Argyris & Schon, 1978; Freeman, 1984; Burrows, 1999; Mitroff, 1983) and contemporary studies on stakeholders’ needs management (Friedman and Miles, 2002; Kaplan & Norton, 2001; Perrini & Tencati, 2006; Susniene & Vanagas, 2006).