What Is a Stakeholder
Every business decision affects people beyond the boardroom. A product launch, a factory closure, a price increase: each one touches a different set of people in different ways. Understanding who those people are, and what they want, is one of the most practical skills in business management.
Stakeholders are individuals or groups who are affected by, or have an interest in, a business's activities.
The word "interest" covers a wide range. A shareholder has a financial stake. A local resident living near a factory has an environmental stake. A government tax authority has a regulatory stake. None of these is more legitimate than the others; they are simply different, and a well-run business takes all of them seriously.
Stakeholders are not the same as shareholders. Shareholders are one specific type of stakeholder: those who own equity in the business. All shareholders are stakeholders, but most stakeholders are not shareholders.