Who are the Stakeholders Now? An Empirical Examination of the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood Theory of Stakeholder Salience

Journal of Business Ethics · 2008 · Volume 83 · Issue 2

Abstract

Two environmental accidents in the mining industry provide the context for this study of the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997,The Academy of Management Review22, 853–886) analysis of stakeholder salience. I examine the reactions of two stakeholder groups: shareholder response is examined in terms of changing share returns and risk; management response through change in disclosure. I find the two decision-makers reacted at different times. Management responded to the first accident, though not the second. Shareholders responded to the second accident alone. My findings support the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (MAW) assertion that stakeholder status is impermanent, and determined through the eyes of the decision-maker.

Keywords

stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility, legitimacy perspective

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