The Role of Steward-Ownership in Creating Stakeholder Value - An Analysis Between Starters and Switchers

Abstract

It is increasingly expected of organizations to implement stakeholder theory into their business models, but this can be challenging due to the absence of a devoted ownership structure. For successful implementation, steward-ownership is researched as a potential solution. A grounded theory research was conducted to analyze the link between stakeholder theory and steward-ownership, the strategy behind this, and the differences among starters and switchers. Therefore, the following research question was answered: How do organizations adopting steward-ownership create stakeholder value? And how does this differ between starters and switchers?. Qualitative data from twelve conducted in-depth interviews with stewards of steward-owned organizations were analyzed that provided insights into the strategy in these organizations to create stakeholder value and what the role of steward-ownership was. The findings of this analysis showed that steward-ownership can be seen as a viable structure to implement stakeholder theory, because it is a credible approach that allows more time for stakeholder engagement, balancing stakeholder interests and building a community. Whereas a difference is found in long-term perspective of switchers and the uninterest of financial stakeholders of starters, steward-owned organizations adopt a broader range of stakeholder groups and values.