Towards a theoretical framework for the governing of stakeholder relationships: a perspective from South Africa

Abstract

Including stakeholder approaches into mainstream strategy has been a topic of recent research in the disciplines of strategic management and strategic communication management. The King III Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (September 2009) illustrates the pragmatic approach to this integration with its chapter on 'Governing Stakeholder Relationships'. This inclusive approach to governance creates awareness among business, government and civil society, of the role that stakeholder relationship management, and therefore strategic communication management, can play in the development, implementation and monitoring of corporate strategies in a sustainable manner. A theoretical framework for an integrated approach-as developed in this article-will guide responsible strategic communication management with specific reference to the governing of stakeholder relationships. It will demonstrate that communication management principles, such as stakeholder relationship management, can assist an organisation in achieving its objectives-even to a point of becoming objectives in themselves.

The impact of online media on stakeholder engagement and the governance of corporations

“…Such findings would need to be expanded to other domains of stakeholder engagement, though (cf. O'Riordan & Fairbrass, ; De Beer & Rensburg, ).…”

“…However, as Clarkson () points out, managers can more easily address requirements of specific interest groups or ‘stakeholders’ than abstract social policy. Thus, in order to achieve good governance and manage complex social or environmental tasks, it is crucial for corporations to establish constructive relationships with their stakeholders (De Beer & Rensburg, ).…”

“…Today, there is a noticeable lack of clearly defined structures and processes in the field of stakeholder engagement (O'Riordan & Fairbrass, ; De Beer & Rensburg, ). Some critical antecedents of stakeholder engagement emerge from current research, such as pressure exerted by stakeholder groups (Andriof & Waddock, ; Carroll & Buchholtz, ), formalization of procedures and coordination across departments (Pedersen, ), and continuous relationship‐building (Burchell & Cook, ).…”

Towards an emerging paradigm of strategic communication: Core driving forces

“…Any business's raison d'être is far more complex and socially motivated than purely financial reasons (De Beer and Rensburg 2011;Grimaldi De Puget 2005;Spence and Rutherfoord 2000).…”

Stakeholder Engagement as a Core Management Function: Analysing the Business Value of Stakeholder Engagement for Nigerian Business Organizations

“…The literature on SE identifies various SE dynamics at global, regional and national levels (Harrison and Wicks, 2013;Beer and Rensburg, 2011;Jeffery, 2009;Greenwood, 2007;Perrini and Tencati, 2006;Svendsen et al, 2001;Hillman and Keim, 2001;Freeman, 2004). These studies show why organizations should take SE seriously in view of its long-and short-term implications for performance and the negative consequences of doing otherwise.…”