Advancing a system-level perspective in stakeholder theory

Insights from the institutional economics of John R. Commons

Bibliographic Data

ID3061328
AuthorsVladislav Valentinov (0000-0002-4247-0364, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies, Germany; Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany; Kazimieras Simonavicius University, Lithuania, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume63
Issue4
Pages443-467
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science Information (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0539-0184 • E-ISSN: 1461-7412
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/05390184241302724
OpenAlexW4405824946
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited59

Stakeholder theory is a growing body of scholarly literature at the crossroads of business ethics and strategic management. This literature encompasses two distinct levels of inquiry, the levels of the firm and of the capitalistic system as a whole. At the firm level, stakeholder theory provides insight into the roots of the firm-level competitive advantage, whereas at the system level, it explores how capitalistic business can act as a social institution serving moral goals. Until now, the firm-level and system-level perspectives in stakeholder theory have not been effectively integrated. Drawing on the classical institutional economics of John Commons, the present paper elaborates the distinction between the firm and system levels of stakeholder collaboration and examines how they are interconnected. Stakeholder collaboration is shown to be shaped by larger institutions, such as habits, customs, public purposes, and prevailing perceptions of reasonableness. Whereas the system-level perspective in stakeholder theory focuses on the evolution of these larger institutions, the firm-level perspective explores how these institutions contribute to the emergence of the firm-level competitive advantage, thereby generating evolutionary forces that adjust the larger institutions

Business · Business ethics · Commons · Competitive advantage · Economics · Industrial organization · Institution · Institutional economics · Institutional theory · Management · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Stakeholder · Stakeholder analysis · Stakeholder Theory · Theory of the firm · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Ethics in Business and Education · Law · Management and Organizational Studies

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