2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
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Prioritizing Stakeholders for <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Relations</strong>: A Case Study <strong>of</strong> Envirocare<br />
Kenneth D. Plowman and Brad L. Rawlins<br />
Brigham Young University<br />
plowman@byu.edu<br />
The value <strong>of</strong> stakeholders to the successful operation <strong>of</strong> businesses and other<br />
organizations have received greater emphasis in the business and public relations<br />
literature. Traditionally, businesses have almost exclusively focused on the value <strong>of</strong><br />
stockholders, employees and customers to help them reach their goals. However, there<br />
are other groups, without as much vested interest in the success <strong>of</strong> the organization,<br />
which can also affect business policy and the bottom line. The question becomes, how<br />
do you identify these groups and when can you know when they will have an impact?<br />
This is the question at the heart <strong>of</strong> stakeholder theory, and inadequate answers to the<br />
question have lead several scholars to criticize the theory and its subsequent artifact,<br />
stakeholder management.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> the holes in the stakeholder literature can be plugged by research<br />
conducted in the field <strong>of</strong> public relations. In particular, public relations studies help to<br />
identify ways to prioritize publics in certain situations, and which publics are important in<br />
your communication strategies during these situations. This paper will merge the<br />
literature <strong>of</strong> stakeholder theory, stakeholder management, and public relations to develop<br />
a prioritizing strategy that is focused on the need to maintain key relationships during<br />
times <strong>of</strong> conflict. The strategy is based on three steps: First, identifying stakeholders;<br />
Second, prioritizing the stakeholders according to their attributes; and Third, prioritizing<br />
the stakeholders according to their level <strong>of</strong> interest in the situation.<br />
Defining Stakeholders and <strong>Public</strong>s<br />
As Grunig and Repper (1992) noted, “<strong>of</strong>ten the terms stakeholder and public are<br />
used synonymously” (p. 125). Stakeholders have been identified in the business<br />
literature according to their relationships to organizations. <strong>Public</strong>s, in the public relations<br />
and other mass media literature, are <strong>of</strong>ten identified according to their relationship to a<br />
message.<br />
Stakeholders<br />
Freeman and Reed (2008) assert that “the stakeholder notion is…a simple one. It<br />
says that there are other groups to whom the corporation is responsible in addition to<br />
stockholders: those groups who have a stake in the actions <strong>of</strong> the corporation” (p. 49).<br />
The most quoted definition <strong>of</strong> a stakeholder in business literature is that given by<br />
Freeman (1984) in his book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Freeman<br />
says a stakeholder is “any group or individual who is affected by or can affect the<br />
achievement <strong>of</strong> an organization’s objectives” (Freeman, 1984). In earlier writings, this<br />
definition is what Freeman refers to as the wide sense <strong>of</strong> a stakeholder; however, he also<br />
spoke <strong>of</strong> the narrow sense <strong>of</strong> a stakeholder when he described it as, “any identifiable<br />
group or individual on which the organization is dependent for its continued survival”<br />
(Freeman & Reed, 2008, p. 51). Preston and Donaldson (1995) agreed with the<br />
definitions <strong>of</strong> Freeman and other scholars, but are careful to make an important addition:<br />
“Stakeholders are identified by their interests in the corporation,” regardless <strong>of</strong> the<br />
corporation’s interest in them. Other scholars are specific when they say the stakeholders<br />
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