In the following we give an overview of the current stakeholder theories, which provide the basic body of knowledge for our understanding of the stakeholder paradigm. From the existing literature we have selected elements that seem of special importance in the light of our perspective. To analyze these elements, we rely upon the classification of Donaldson and Preston. According to these authors, stakeholder theory can have three dimensions: a descriptive, an instrumental and a normative dimension.

Descriptive dimension

Donaldson and Preston state that a descriptive approach focuses on the questions of what the corporation is, its characteristics and its observable behavior. The descriptive dimension is justified by the fact that the majority of managers believe that not only shareholders but other stakeholders are to be considered in their business decisions. Post et al. refer to a number of empirical analyses and studies showing that managers consider stakeholders in their decisions. Even though managers may not always use the term “stakeholder management,” they apply it in practice. In addition, various countries have specifications in their laws that give stakeholders and their interests in a firm a recognized position aside from that of the shareholders.