Scrutinizing stakeholder thinking. Orthodoxy or Heterodoxy?

Abstract

Marshaling insights from the corporate marketing and corporate communication fields, this article scrutinizes two prominent - albeit highly contrasting - perspectives relating to the corporate identity and stakeholder interface. The first takes an endogenous and institutional approach: this represents the orthodox and dominant perspective that focuses on an organization’s inherent corporate identity traits, ethos, and capabilities. The second adopts an exogenous and relational approach: this exemplifies a critical and constructionist perspective where corporate identities are constituted by the interactions with and among stakeholders. By examining these two perspectives, this article seeks to advance our understanding of the territory and the ways in which management and organizations should engage with different conceptualizations of the corporate identity and the stakeholder ‘interface’.