Stakeholder Analysis and Public Sector Organizations

Despite being in the business agenda for a while, stakeholder management is still a low profile concept in the public management domain. The knowledge presented in this book aims to ensure that stakeholder management is an useful technique able to raise issues about power and interests to the public organisation s strategic management processes. Stakeholder theory is tested in the decision-making process of English Local Authorities on an exploratory study carried. The findings derive from two distinct and complementary studies: a cross-sectional survey undertaken with chief executives based on the quantitative approach and a qualitative investigation based on cross-sectional case studies and in-depth interviews of validation. Findings indicate that local government decision-making is a multistakeholder process in which influences are exerted according to stakeholders power and interests. Another issue raised by the investigation is related to the ethics upon which these types of relationships are based on. According to the evidence gathered throughout the investigation, the formal model of accountability does not cover the whole set of stakeholders engaged in the process.