IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v18y2009i6p347-359.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The natural environment as a primary stakeholder: the case of climate change

Author

Listed:
  • Nardia Haigh
  • Andrew Griffiths

Abstract

In this paper, we review the debate surrounding whether or not the natural environment should be considered an organizational stakeholder. We argue for a broad definition of stakeholders, and present a case for the natural environment being an easily identifiable primary stakeholder when climate change is brought into the debate. We develop a conceptual stakeholder identification framework by combining and extending the work of Mitchell, Agle and Wood, and Driscoll and Starik. We approach the stakeholder issue from a strategic rather than moral or ethical perspective. In particular, we contend that power, legitimacy, urgency and proximity are combined when climatic changes, such as increasingly frequent anomalous extreme weather, can damage business infrastructure, resources, products and market, overshadowing moral and ethical aspects of the debate. We also identify key implications for business and policymakers, and highlight opportunities for future research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Nardia Haigh & Andrew Griffiths, 2009. "The natural environment as a primary stakeholder: the case of climate change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(6), pages 347-359, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:18:y:2009:i:6:p:347-359
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.602
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.602
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.602?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kristel Buysse & Alain Verbeke, 2003. "Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 453-470, May.
    2. Stephen Fineman & Ken Clarke, 1996. "Green Stakeholders: Industry Interpretations And Response," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(6), pages 715-730, November.
    3. Sanjay Sharma & Irene Henriques, 2005. "Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 159-180, February.
    4. Damien J. A. Bazin & Jérôme Ballet, 2004. "Corporate Social Responsibility," Post-Print halshs-00727577, HAL.
    5. Reinhard Steurer, 2006. "Mapping stakeholder theory anew: from the ‘stakeholder theory of the firm’ to three perspectives on business–society relations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 55-69, January.
    6. Henning Madsen & John P. Ulhøi, 2001. "Integrating environmental and stakeholder management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 77-88, March.
    7. Damien Bazin & Jerome Ballet, 2004. "Corporate social responsibility: the natural environment as a stakeholder?," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 59-75.
    8. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    9. Kalle Pajunen, 2006. "Stakeholder Influences in Organizational Survival," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1261-1288, September.
    10. Freeman, R. Edward, 1994. "The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions1," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 409-421, October.
    11. Magali Delmas & Michael W. Toffel, 2004. "Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 209-222, July.
    12. Orts, Eric W. & Strudler, Alan, 2002. "The Ethical and Environmental Limits of Stakeholder Theory," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 215-233, April.
    13. Vanessa Magness, 2006. "Strategic posture, financial performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical test of legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 540-563, July.
    14. Nigel Roome & Frank Wijen, 2006. "Stakeholder power and organizational learning in corporate environmental management," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/14321, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Benjamin Neville & Bulent Menguc, 2006. "Stakeholder Multiplicity: Toward an Understanding of the Interactions between Stakeholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 377-391, July.
    16. Phillips, Robert & Freeman, R. Edward & Wicks, Andrew C., 2003. "What Stakeholder Theory is Not," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 479-502, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jose Lopez-De-Pedro & Eva Rimbau-Gilabert, 2012. "Stakeholder Approach: What Effects Should We Take into Account in Contemporary Societies?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 147-158, May.
    2. Barchiesi, Maria Assunta & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea, 2021. "Corporate core values and social responsibility: What really matters to whom," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Jérôme Ballet & Damien Bazin, 2004. "Prendre au sérieux les enjeux environnementaux," Post-Print halshs-01070785, HAL.
    4. Tiina Onkila, 2011. "Multiple forms of stakeholder interaction in environmental management: business arguments regarding differences in stakeholder relationships," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(6), pages 379-393, September.
    5. Elisa Alt & Emilio Díez-de-Castro & Francisco Lloréns-Montes, 2015. "Linking Employee Stakeholders to Environmental Performance: The Role of Proactive Environmental Strategies and Shared Vision," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 167-181, April.
    6. Samantha Miles, 2017. "Stakeholder Theory Classification: A Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Definitions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 437-459, May.
    7. Mehrnaz Ashrafi & Gregory M. Magnan & Michelle Adams & Tony R. Walker, 2020. "Understanding the Conceptual Evolutionary Path and Theoretical Underpinnings of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Lyton Chithambo & Venancio Tauringana & Ishmael Tingbani & Laura Achiro, 2022. "Stakeholder pressure and greenhouses gas voluntary disclosures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 159-172, January.
    9. Julia Wolf, 2013. "Improving the Sustainable Development of Firms: The Role of Employees," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 92-108, February.
    10. Hannah Charlotte Joos, 2019. "Influences on managerial perceptions of stakeholder salience: two decades of research in review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 3-37, February.
    11. Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz & Kerli Kant Hvass, 2018. "Exploring the Relationship Between Business Model Innovation, Corporate Sustainability, and Organisational Values within the Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 267-284, May.
    12. Yves Fassin, 2010. "A Dynamic Perspective in Freeman’s Stakeholder Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 39-49, August.
    13. Qi Guoyou & Zeng Saixing & Tam Chiming & Yin Haitao & Zou Hailiang, 2013. "Stakeholders' Influences on Corporate Green Innovation Strategy: A Case Study of Manufacturing Firms in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    14. Kudla, Nicole & Stölzle, Wolfgang, 2011. "Sustainability Supply Chain Management Research," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 65(3), pages 263-301.
    15. Bongani Munkuli & Renee Horne, 2018. "Financial Markets Value Reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – A Study of the South African Mining Sector," Africagrowth Agenda, Africagrowth Institute, vol. 15(2), pages 17-22.
    16. Andrew Crane & Trish Ruebottom, 2011. "Stakeholder Theory and Social Identity: Rethinking Stakeholder Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 77-87, March.
    17. Yves Fassin, 2012. "Stakeholder Management, Reciprocity and Stakeholder Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 83-96, August.
    18. Kanwalroop K. Dhanda & Joseph Sarkis & Dileep G. Dhavale, 2022. "Institutional and stakeholder effects on carbon mitigation strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 782-795, March.
    19. Paola Garrone & Luca Grilli & Boris Mrkajic, 2018. "The role of institutional pressures in the introduction of energy‐efficiency innovations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1245-1257, December.
    20. Jenny Ählström & Monica Macquet & Ulf Richter, 2009. "The lack of a critical perspective in environmental management research: distortion in the scientific discourse," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 334-346, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:18:y:2009:i:6:p:347-359. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.