Stakeholders are the interested parties who influence or are influenced by a company, project, decision, or policy. In simple terms, this includes any person, group, or institution with a legitimate interest in the business outcomes, such as customers, employees, investors, suppliers, government, and the community.
Understanding stakeholders is no longer just a theoretical concept. Stakeholder-oriented companies can achieve... 20% more annual growth, 28% higher return for investors, 26% fewer emissions, and 64% more positive impact on the value chain.. At the same time, approximately 67% of the real needs of the stakeholders are still not being met., This demonstrates the magnitude of the opportunity for organizations that know how to listen to, prioritize, and engage their audiences.
Key points
- Stakeholders are all interested parties that affect or are affected by the company or a project.
- They can be classified as internal and external, as well as primary and secondary.
- Effective stakeholder management improves strategy, operations, reputation, compliance, and financial results.
- Mapping typically uses criteria such as power, interest, influence, legitimacy, and urgency.
- The difference between a stakeholder and a shareholder is essential: every shareholder is a stakeholder, but not every stakeholder is a shareholder.
What are stakeholders?
Simple and objective definition
Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations with a direct or indirect interest in a company, project, or decision. The Brazilian public administration itself defines stakeholders as actors who have an interest in or impact on the organization and recommends their strategic mapping in governance processes, as shown in... Brazilian Federal Government guide on stakeholder mapping.
In practice, this means that stakeholders can influence outcomes, approve or block actions, generate support, create resistance, amplify risks, or strengthen opportunities.
Origin of the term "stakeholder"“
The term gained traction in business management and strategy with the studies of R. Edward Freeman, a classic reference in stakeholder theory. The central idea is that a company creates value not only for shareholders, but also for other relevant stakeholders who support its operation and social legitimacy.
This vision broadened the way businesses began to think about governance, sustainability, communication, and decision-making.
What does "stakeholders" mean in practice?
When we talk about stakeholders, we're not just talking about those who "give their opinion" about the company. We're talking about those who can:
- affect business performance
- suffer the impacts of the organization's decisions
- demand accountability
- to influence reputation and license to operate
- to support or hinder strategic projects
Therefore, stakeholders are not just a project management concept. They are a central piece of corporate strategy.
Why are stakeholders important to companies and projects?
Influence on business results
Stakeholders influence sales, investments, productivity, access to credit, social acceptance, regulatory compliance, and reputation. A critical supplier can affect operations. A regulatory body can impose restrictions. A strategic client can drive growth. A local community can support or oppose an expansion.
In other words, stakeholders directly influence the success or failure of business initiatives.
Impact on strategy, operations, finances, and reputation.
Stakeholder management affects different dimensions of the business:
- Strategic: helps align decisions with relevant expectations.
- Operational: reduces noise, resistance, and delays.
- Financial: improves predictability and market confidence.
- Reputational: strengthens image and credibility.
- Legal and regulatory: reduces exposure to sanctions and conflicts.
- Socio-environmental: expanding responsibility and sustainability.
This broader perspective is especially important in regulated sectors, complex supply chains, and companies with high public exposure.
Relationship with sustainability, governance and growth
A company that ignores stakeholders tends to have a narrow view of value. Conversely, an organization that considers different audiences is able to build more lasting relationships, reduce conflicts, and strengthen its governance.
There is evidence that stakeholder-oriented companies deliver superior performance, as shown in the study by Humanized. This connects stakeholders to ESG, materiality, accountability, and long-term value creation.
What are the different types of stakeholders?
Internal and external stakeholders
The most well-known classification divides stakeholders into internal and external.
Examples of internal stakeholders
Internal stakeholders are those who are part of the organization's structure. Among the main ones are:
- employees
- managers
- board of directors
- board of directors
- partners
- shareholders
- investors with direct participation
These audiences are involved in the company's daily operations and often have a direct influence on decisions and execution.
Examples of external stakeholders
External stakeholders are outside the formal structure of the company, but they can affect it or be affected by it. Examples:
- customers
- suppliers
- distributors
- government
- regulatory bodies
- press
- local community
- NGOs
- unions
- partners
- activist groups
In many cases, these audiences have just as big an impact as the internal ones.
Primary and secondary stakeholders
Another useful classification separates stakeholders into primary and secondary.
Differences between them
Primary stakeholders are essential for the organization's survival. Without them, the business cannot function properly. Secondary stakeholders, on the other hand, are not vital to immediate operations, but they can influence context, reputation, and the institutional environment.
Practical examples
| Classification | What it means | Examples |
| Primary | Essential for business continuity | customers, employees, investors, key suppliers |
| Secondary | They influence the environment and the perception of the company. | media, NGOs, associations, pressure groups |
Other useful classifications
In addition to the more well-known categories, some typologies help to refine the analysis.
Dominant
It has power and legitimacy. It usually demands priority attention.
Dependent
It has legitimacy and urgency, but little power. It needs active listening and institutional protection.
Claimant
It presents urgent demands, but does not always possess legitimacy or significant power.
Asleep
He has power, but he hasn't yet shown active interest. He could become critical quickly.
Arbitrary
It has legitimacy, but little urgency and little power. Even so, it should not be ignored.
Examples of stakeholders in a company
Employees and managers
They are fundamental to the execution of strategy, productivity, culture, and innovation. This is in fact supported by an analysis published in... SciELO This shows that employee stakeholders tend to exhibit a high level of service among internal stakeholders in companies that publish sustainability reports.
Shareholders and investors
They expect returns, transparency, governance, and risk management. Their power is usually high, especially in strategic decisions and capital allocation.
Customers
They affect revenue, reputation, and growth. They are also a valuable source of feedback on quality, service, positioning, and innovation.
Suppliers
They are crucial for deadlines, costs, quality, and operational continuity. In critical supply chains, a supplier can be a priority stakeholder.
Government and regulatory bodies
They operate in areas such as licensing, oversight, legal obligations, and compliance. In regulated sectors, this group has structural influence.
Local community, NGOs and society
These stakeholders impact the social legitimacy of the organization. In projects with urban, environmental, or social impact, their participation is central.
Media, unions and activist groups
They can increase visibility, influence decisions, and shape public perceptions. They are especially relevant in reputational crises.
What is the difference between a stakeholder and a shareholder?
What is a shareholder?
A shareholder is someone who owns a stake in a company. Their focus is usually on financial return, business valuation, and governance.
How does a shareholder relate to a stakeholder?
Every shareholder is a stakeholder because they have a direct interest in the company's performance. But not every stakeholder is a shareholder, since customers, employees, suppliers, and communities are also stakeholders without necessarily owning shares.
Comparative table between stakeholder and shareholder
| Criterion | Stakeholder | Shareholder |
| Definition | Affected or influential stakeholder | Company shareholder |
| Relationship with the business | It can be direct or indirect. | It is corporate and financial. |
| Main objective | Variable depending on the group. | Return on investment |
| Examples | customers, employees, government, community | shareholders, quota holders, investors with a stake |
How to identify stakeholders?
Initial stakeholder assessment
The first step is to list all stakeholders who may influence or be impacted. This applies to companies, projects, internal changes, product launches, mergers, expansions, and crises.
A useful question is: who wins, loses, decides, finances, regulates, executes, buys, criticizes, or is impacted?
Brainstorming, project history, and expert opinion.
Identification becomes more robust when different sources are combined:
- brainstorming with internal areas
- analysis of previous projects
- Consultation with leaders and experts
- Review of contracts, processes, and organizational charts.
- Risk assessment and regulatory obligations
THE Harvard Business Review It suggests practical questions to identify key stakeholders, which helps to avoid superficial lists.
How to uncover interests, expectations, and potential conflicts.
After identifying the groups, it is necessary to understand:
- What are your real interests?
- What do they expect from the company or the project?
- What risks do they perceive?
- What type of information do you want?
- where conflicts of interest may arise
This step can be done through interviews, surveys, workshops, and analysis of interaction history.
How to identify key stakeholders
Not all stakeholders have the same weight. The most important ones usually share one or more of these characteristics:
- high power of influence
- high interest in the topic
- great potential impact
- institutional legitimacy
- urgency in demands
How to map and classify stakeholders
Analysis criteria: influence, interest, impact, legitimacy, and urgency.
Stakeholder mapping organizes audiences by relevance. The most commonly used criteria are:
- power
- interest
- influence
- impact
- legitimacy
- urgency
This analysis helps prioritize time, energy, and communication.
Stakeholder map
The stakeholder map is a visual tool for organizing and prioritizing audiences.
Power vs. Interest Matrix
The power-interest matrix is the best-known model. It divides stakeholders into four quadrants:
| Power | Interest | Recommended strategy |
| High | High | manage closely |
| High | Low | keep satisfied |
| Low | High | keep informed |
| Low | Low | monitor |
How to interpret the quadrants
Those with high power and high stakes require close relationships, frequent communication, and continuous monitoring. Groups with low power and low stakes can be monitored less intensively, without being ignored.
Prioritization by order of importance
After creating the map, it's worth establishing a practical order of priority:
- critical stakeholders
- relevant stakeholders
- monitoring stakeholders
- occasional stakeholders
This makes management more objective, especially in complex projects.
Stakeholder analytical framework
A useful approach is to record for each stakeholder:
- group name
- paper
- power level
- level of interest
- expectations
- associated risks
- preferred channel
- responsible for the relationship
- frequency of contact
This model functions as a living foundation for management.
How to manage stakeholders in practice.
Step 1: Identify
List all relevant stakeholders. Avoid limiting the analysis only to those who are "inside" the company.
Step 2: Understanding needs and expectations
Map out interests, demands, fears, incentives, and potential resistance. Remember that the same decision can generate benefits for one group and discomfort for another.
Step 3: Sort and prioritize
Use objective criteria, such as power, interest, and impact, to define priorities.
Step 4: Create an action plan.
Develop a management plan with:
- objectives by stakeholder
- main message
- communication channel
- internal manager
- frequency of contact
- risks and contingencies
Step 5: Define ongoing communication and follow-up.
Stakeholder management is not a one-off task. It is an ongoing process of listening, adjusting, and monitoring.
How to engage stakeholders effectively.
Transparent communication
The foundation of engagement is clarity. Stakeholders need to understand what is happening, why it is happening, and how they will be impacted.
Channel selection and language adaptation
Not all audiences respond to the same channel. Some require formal reports. Others prefer meetings, dashboards, emails, or direct contact. The language used should also vary according to the audience's background.
Continuous feedback
Engagement is not one-sided communication. It requires creating space for listening, responding, and course correction.
Record of interaction history
Maintaining a record of conversations, requests, decisions, and commitments prevents misunderstandings and improves the consistency of the relationship.
Building relationships and trust.
Trust is built on predictability, consistency, and responsiveness. Without these, even neutral stakeholders can become opponents.
What risks arise when stakeholders are not well managed?
Operational risks
Projects are delayed, decisions are stalled, and execution loses efficiency when key stakeholders are not considered.
Reputational risks
Customers, the press, communities, and activists can quickly amplify negative perceptions if there are failures in dialogue or transparency.
Legal and regulatory risks
Public bodies, regulators, and partners may impose requirements, sanctions, or blockages when a company ignores legitimate obligations and expectations.
Financial risks
Poor stakeholder management can affect revenue, fundraising, valuation, operating costs, and market confidence.
Conflicts of interest and misalignment of expectations
When conflicting interests are not identified early, the company tends to react too late. This increases friction, rework, and political costs.
Stakeholders, compliance and risk management
How stakeholders can generate compliance risks
Some stakeholders represent significant exposure to integrity, reputation, and compliance risks. This is especially true for third parties, partners, suppliers, intermediaries, and agents with sensitive institutional relationships.
Topics such as conflict of interest, red flags e risk assessment These should be part of the analysis.
Due diligence and continuous monitoring
It is not enough to approve a stakeholder just once. In many cases, it is necessary to monitor registration, reputational, and corporate changes over time, with the support of... automated continuous monitoring.
PEPs, restricted lists, and corporate changes.
In sensitive contexts, the company should evaluate issues such as Politically Exposed Person (PEP), corporate structure e risk mitigation plan.
Stakeholders in corporate communication and reputation
The role of communication and public relations.
Corporate communication transforms stakeholder management into structured relationships. It helps align narratives, reduce noise, and strengthen trust.
Perception and image management
Many stakeholders exert more influence through the perception they create than through the formal power they possess. Therefore, reputation must be actively monitored.
Media monitoring and sentiment analysis
Mature companies monitor mentions, press coverage, social media, and signs of dissatisfaction in order to act proactively.
Tools and methodologies for stakeholder management
PMBOK and stakeholder management
Stakeholder management has gained formal relevance in project management, including prominence in... PMBOK cited by Artia. This reinforces the idea that stakeholders are a key element in the success of projects.
Harvard Business Review Framework for Key Stakeholders
The framework presented by Harvard Business Review It helps identify who should really be a priority for leadership.
Research, interviews, workshops and benchmarking
These tools help transform perception into evidence. They are useful for both diagnosis and periodic review of the map.
Monitoring software and dashboards
CRMs, governance platforms, compliance tools, and relationship dashboards help track status, risks, history, and indicators.
Best practices for a stakeholder strategy
Alignment between company objectives and stakeholder interests.
The company doesn't need to agree with all the demands, but it needs to understand them and address them carefully.
Periodic map update
The stakeholder map ages quickly. Regulatory, corporate, reputational, and market changes alter priorities.
Monitoring and reviewing priorities.
A dormant stakeholder can become critical. A previously peripheral group can gain power due to political or social context.
Indicators and metrics of success
Some useful KPIs for stakeholder management are:
- response rate
- level of engagement
- satisfaction by audience
- conflict resolution time
- adherence to communication plans
- volume of reputational incidents
- third-party residual risk
Frequently asked questions about stakeholders
What are stakeholders?
Stakeholders are people, groups, or institutions that influence or are influenced by a company, project, or decision. In Portuguese, the term is usually translated as "partes interessadas" (interested parties).
Who are a company's stakeholders?
A company's stakeholders can include employees, managers, shareholders, investors, customers, suppliers, government, community, media, and NGOs. The composition varies depending on the sector and context.
What is the difference between a stakeholder and a shareholder?
A stakeholder is any relevant interested party. A shareholder specifically refers to a stockholder, that is, someone who owns a stake in the company.
How to map stakeholders?
To map stakeholders, a company must identify relevant audiences, understand their interests and expectations, classify them by power and interest, and define relationship strategies. The power x interest matrix is one of the most widely used tools.
What is a stakeholder matrix?
The stakeholder matrix is a classification model that organizes stakeholders according to criteria such as power, interest, and influence. It helps define priorities and types of communication.
How to prioritize stakeholders?
Prioritization considers factors such as business impact, influence, legitimacy, and urgency. Stakeholders with high power and high interest usually receive priority attention.
What are the main types of stakeholders?
The main types of stakeholders are internal and external, as well as primary and secondary. There are also more advanced classifications, such as dominant, dependent, and dormant.
Why is stakeholder management important?
Stakeholder management reduces conflicts, improves decision-making, strengthens reputation, and increases the chances of success for projects and strategies. It also contributes to compliance, governance, and sustainability.
Are stakeholders only important in large companies?
No. Small and medium-sized enterprises also depend on stakeholders, such as customers, staff, suppliers, banks, the local government, and the local community. The principle is the same, albeit with less complexity.
How to engage stakeholders effectively?
Stakeholder engagement requires clear communication, active listening, appropriate channel selection, recording of interactions, and continuous follow-up. The focus should be on trust and alignment of expectations.