Governing a union's external stakeholders: A prioritization method based on relationship quality and perceived impact

Abstract

Stakeholder governance is a growing issue in the literature and for organizations. The complex and uncertain environment of nonprofit organizations forces them to prioritize stakeholder requirements. The traditional criterion of influence and power is nevertheless proving insufficient for these organizations, especially those in political or interest representation sectors. This article proposes to use the relationship quality with stakeholders and its components (trust, satisfaction, influence, engagement) as criteria for prioritization. The study is carried out within the "Young Farmers" union, a French 50,000-member union defending the interests of agriculture and of farmers under 35 years of age. It questions external stakeholders on the relationship with the organization and its impact and it enables to verify the relevance of these criteria. The results suggest integrating stakeholder emotions into the same-named theory and studying relationship quality as a process in which satisfaction builds trust that enables engagement, which itself has a positive role on influence. The findings also revisit strategic models of stakeholder prioritization byThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Evaluation in nonprofit organizations: A defense of perception as a managerial and scientific tool

“…Organizational success and stakeholder demands can therefore be studied from a reputational and subjective perspective (e.g., Plaisance, 2023a). In a context of uncertainty and complexity, value cannot be easily calculated and can hardly be objectified (Benjamin et al, 2022).…”

“…Chatelain‐Ponroy et al (2014) consider that nonprofit governance is “the manner relationships between stakeholders are structured around a collective project” (p. 220), when Pérez (2003) underlines that nonprofit governance “refers to the institutional and behavioral arrangements governing relations between the leaders of a NPO and the stakeholders involved in the future of the NPO, primarily those who have legitimate rights to the NPO” (p. 22). Many other scholars place stakeholder management and relationships at the heart of NPO management (Busson‐Villa & Gallopel‐Morvan, 2012; Kreutzer, 2009; Meier & Schier, 2008; Plaisance, 2022a, 2023a; Sprecher, 2010; Willems et al, 2017).…”

“…However, in the case of NPOs, actions, results, and even impact are subjective and emotional concepts (Plaisance, 2022b, 2023a). On this point, Rey García et al (2013) have shown that the evaluation of NPOs (i.e., determining their performance and impact) relies primarily on “effective relationships with relevant stakeholders” that “translate into improved organizational performance and social impact according to nonprofit's mission and societal values” (p. 94).…”

“…The concept of relationship quality can be defined as an environment of mutual trust, satisfaction, commitment and influence (Plaisance, 2022b) and has a specific interest in stakeholders management. This approach of mutual relationship quality can indeed contribute to the prioritization of stakeholders (Plaisance, 2023a): beyond the traditional criteria of influence (Brajer‐Marczak et al, 2021; Hall et al, 2015; Wood et al, 2021) or participation in value creation (MacMillan et al, 2005), NPOs can identify priority stakeholders through the quality of their relationship with them. The four dimensions of relationship quality can then become attributes for stakeholders that NPOs can use to prioritize requirements.…”

Research on Voluntary Internal Audit of Irish Business

“…Voluntarily adopting internal auditing signifies the organization's commitment to strong corporate governance, effective risk management practices, and reliable financial reporting. Additionally, by adopting internal auditing voluntarily, the organization demonstrates its dedication to upholding ethical standards, compliance, and the integrity of its operations, sending a strong signal to stakeholders that the organization is committed to enhancing openness, transparency, and accountability, which can positively respond to investor and stakeholder expectations (Plaisance, 2023).…”