The aims of the present paper are, to present a conceptual model of stakeholder management and to expand upon the relationship between organisational sustainability and global sustainability. The theoretical discussions have been inspired and deducted from theory on stakeholders, quality management and sustainability. A model is developed that takes account of practical and theoretical implications of stakeholder-oriented management in pursuit of organisational and global sustainability. The model might be used to explain actual behaviour of organisations and to distinct between organisational and global sustainability.

In a world of limited resources, it could be argued that companies that aspire to be good corporate citizens need to focus on making best use of resources. User value and environmental harm are created in supply chains and it could therefore be argued that company business ethics should be extended from the company to the entire value chain from the first supplier to the last customer. Starting with a delineation of the linkages between business ethics, corporate sustainability, and the stakeholder concept, this article argues that supply chains generally have a great innovation potential for sustainable development. This potential could be highlighted with system thinking and the use of change management knowledge, promoting not only innovations within technology but also within organizational improvement. We propose process models and performance indicators as means of highlighting improvement potential and thus breaking down normative business ethics' requirements to an opertionalizable corporate level: Good business ethics should focus on maximizing stakeholder value in relation to harm done. Our results indicate that focusing on supply chains reveals previously unknown innovation potential that seems to be related to limited system understanding. The assumption is that increased visibility of opportunities will act as a driver for change. Results also highlight the importance of focusing on sustainability effects of the core business and clearly relating value created to harm done.

In recent years, organisations and particularly business organisations have undergone rapid and significant change. Not least of those changes have been the range of influence and the range of values that the organisation affects and are affected by, both positively and negatively. To survive in that volatile, often ambiguous and always uncertain environment, the contemporary organisation must satisfy a number of stak eholders whose wants and expectations are disparate, often in conflict and subject to change. Nowadays customers, co-workers, suppliers, management, stockholders, government and other groups are often influential enough to merit being considered as stakeholders. Stakeholders are those actors that provide the necessary means or support for the organisation, which, if their wants or expectations are not met, could be withdrawn causing consequential effects on the organisation.Stakeholder theory suggests that to be sustainable, organisations must find a balance between different stakeholder interests. However, stakeholder theory and its implementation are still relatively unexplored. The paper presents a case study where a stakeholder model has been implemented in a micro-enterprise. Results include a revised model based on the experiences from the case. The stakeholder model has been adapted to accommodate a process approach and the PDSA-cycle.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of stakeholder theory for organisational development and contribute to the knowledge of operational stakeholder management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a case study in a micro-enterprise where data have been collected as participant observations. Findings – Stakeholder theory suggests that to be sustainable, organisations must find a balance between different stakeholder interests. The paper presents a case study where a stakeholder model has been tested in a micro-enterprise. Results include a revised model based on the experiences from the case. The stakeholder model has been adapted to accommodate a process approach and the PDSA-cycle. Practical implications – The model can be used when wanting to develop a structured management system based on stakeholder interests. Originality/value – The paper has a vast content of originality as not as much has been written about stakeholder management from an empirical point of view as from a theoretical.

In today's society, organisations are exposed to stiff competition, and wants and expectations might change rapidly. In order to survive, all organisations must meet wants and expectations from a number of actors who can cause the organisation to fail. These actors are called stakeholders. At the same time as organisations are struggling to survive and prosper, it has become increasingly important for everybody to act in a way that does not endanger global sustainability. In the last few decades a number of management systems have been introduced in order to facilitate for the management of organisations the task of promoting both organisational and global sustainability. In the present study, quality management, environmental management systems and stakeholder theory have been investigated in order to contribute to the knowledge of how an organisation can be managed in order to achieve both organisational and global sustainability. In order to conduct the research, an archival analysis of nine manufacturing Swedish companies was made in order to find out if their environmental performance had improved during the last decade and if such improvements could be linked to the certification of an environmental management system. A case study was also made in order to explore how organisations may be managed in order to achieve both organisational and global sustainability. The results of the research show that the investigated companies have improved their environmental performance, but the connection to the certification of the EMS is not apparent. The results also include a stakeholder model that could be suitable in order to integrate stakeholder theory and quality management. Organisational sustainability is argued be achieved if the organisation manages to endlessly satisfy or exceed the demands of its stakeholders. Where stakeholders are considered to be actors that: (i) provide essential means of support required by an organisation; and (ii) could withdraw their support if their wants or expectations are not met, thus causing the organisation to fail, or inflicting unacceptable levels of damage. The aim of a third generation of quality management could then be for the organisation to satisfy, or preferably exceed, the wants and expectations of its customers subject to meeting the demands of its other stakeholders, in order to fulfil the aim of the organisation. To also promote global sustainability, the organisation should aim to satisfy, or preferably exceed, the wants and expectations of its stakeholders without compromising the ability of other parties to meet their needs, both present and future. It is to be hoped that the proposed stakeholder model can be used in both existing and future management concepts in order to help companies to promote both organisational and global sustainability.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of a methodology for identification of stakeholders, their demands, wants and expectations. Design/methodology/approach – Within the public eldercare, data were collected by means of participant observations to assess the methodology under development and to explore the stakeholder view within public eldercare. Findings – In public eldercare, the customer focus is often emphasised, but not always apparent. Nursing staff have the responsibility to give patients the right care. However, these customers often have to be satisfied subject to meeting demands from relatives, management and society, just to mention a few of the other potential stakeholders. Indeed, nurses have diverging views of who the stakeholders are and also find it problematic to prioritize between stakeholders' interests. The findings include a stakeholder methodology, which suggests steps for identification of stakeholders and stakeholders' demands, wants and expectations on an individual employee level as well as steps for group discussions concerning how to achieve a common view and balance different interests on an organizational level. Research limitation/implications – The implications of the findings are mainly valid for the Swedish public eldercare. However, both experiences and the stakeholder methodology should be valuable both for other public and private organisations. Originality/value – The study might stimulate the debate on the somewhat controversial customer focus in public eldercare. It explores the suitability of stakeholder theory on an individual level and presents a tentative stakeholder methodology.