The year 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of a key book in management theory, a book that paved the way for a new paradigm or, at least, lent it structure and strength: Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, by Edward Freeman.

The Stakeholder theory proposed a radical change in how we understand companies. Whereas previously the shareholder had been regarded as the all-mighty figure who should determine how a company should be run, under the new theory, the center of gravity was distributed across all groups that might be affected by its activity: the stakeholders.

Freeman’s vision -later embraced by hundreds of other scholars- held that it was not only possible, but also necessary to listen to all people affected by the company’s business, to let them voice their needs and proposals regarding the company’s future.

But are we prepared for this change? Or, more accurately, are we prepared to implement it properly? The stakeholder model tells us that everyone has a say: employees, customers, suppliers, etc. Has anyone taught us how to do it? How does one talk to a company? And, just as importantly, how can company managers listen to stakeholders?

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Article by Sira Abenoza, professor in the Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability at Esade.