A longitudinal examination of significant change in stakeholder management

Despite rich theoretical development, empirical research on stakeholder management is scant, save its relationship with financial performance which has dominated empirical research for the past two decades. Recent research shows significant intra-firm variability in stakeholder management across time. Our study seeks to explain why firms would experience significant changes in their stakeholder management. Using Wood's (1991) three principles of stakeholder management as our overarching framework, we identify antecedents of change at the institutional, organizational and executive levels. Pressures for legitimacy at the institutional level suggest firm age, size and industry shifts in stakeholder management will increase the likelihood of changes in stakeholder management for the focal firm. We posit organizational risk and performance will also increase the likelihood of change as will managerial discretion and top management team (TMT) turnover. We also consider managerial discretion and TMT turnover to magnify the effects of the other antecedents. We test our predictions in a longitudinal sample of stakeholder management and discuss the implications of our findings for research and practice.