Who to listen to: the influence of different stakeholder types on the circular activities of Dutch manufacturing companies

Abstract

The Circular Economy (CE) serves as a good strategy to limit the virgin material use of modern economies. This study investigates the influence stakeholders have on the circular activities of Dutch manufacturing companies. Using 18 interviews, stakeholder theory combined with institutional theory were used to investigate how different stakeholder types influence companies, categorizing stakeholders based on stakeholder salience and participation. The results show that more salient and participatory stakeholders have higher influence strength. Moreover, the results suggest that the level of salience is an important determinant for cognitive influence which is generated by cultural and societal rules of what is appropriate. Cognitive influence was also shown to be used most by stakeholders overall. This suggests that the concept of a CE is growing in Dutch society increasingly exerting pressure on companies to adopt circular activities.