making strategy compatible with general
stakeholder expectations.
This does not mean that a company should
skip on mapping or monitoring stakeholders. Continuous mapping and monitoring is what is going to serve as a guide
for corporate strategy.
Following stakeholder trends, opinions,
and expectations is going to provide valuable input in regard to how the company
can meet stakeholder expectations best.
The whole idea about transforming organizational strategy and thus stakeholder
strategy is bigger than a simple explanation why one needs to really pay attention
to stakeholders.
As you can see on the picture presenting
the seven levels of organizational evolution, a company usually undergoes a development which inevitably ends with
corporate strategy adjusted to address societal issues.
The reason is that nowadays
stakeholders’ demands and pressure from legislators, competitors
and professional organizations
pushes a company towards achieving CSR excellence.
As a result a company of a certain
size cannot function without
meeting certain stakeholder expectations.
Many scholars might argue that
the organizational evolution is a
result of the company becoming
more socially aware and responsible. Truth is however that this
rarely is the case.
Companies follow the shortest
way to profit. Organizational evolution is just an expression of
changed environmental factors.
Companies have to act in a certain
way and meet certain standards in
order to enable organizational activities.
Furthermore, companies compete
for stakeholder attention, targeting various groups to reach one:
consumers.
11