The Problem

Stakeholder Analysis – A Tool for Network Management
I. Introduction – How do we know who should be at the table?
As the theory and practice of public administration in this country has begun to move
away from the concept of hierarchically-controlled, scientifically-based operations to
more open, flatter, and citizen-inclusive “network” forms of management, the concept of
“stakeholder inclusion” in the governance process has gained in prominence (deLeon,
1992; Fischer, 1993). In fact, while it may be argued that the appropriate role of the
“public” in public administration has been an active and ongoing area of inquiry and
debate since the founding of this nation, a discernible contemporary movement to
examine the role of the “public” in the process of administrative decision making has
come about in the past three decades as a result of concern over citizen discouragement
and apathy (Box, 1996; Putnam, 1995; Timney, 1996; Thomas, 1995, Schroeder and
Wamsley, 1995). This trend is of profound importance to the field of public
administration. Foremost is the effect that such an orientation has on the conceptual role
of the administrator in the governance process.
The concept of stakeholder analysis and management, and other theoretical approaches
advocating increased public participation and deliberation, are scattered throughout the
literature. Not only are agencies increasingly being mandated to incorporate some
legitimate form of public/stakeholder participation process beyond the traditional notice
and hearing standards (Rossi, 1997; Jones, 1997; Powell, 1997), but a valid and important
normative/ethical component also exists (Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Clarkson, 1995;
Tennert and Soden, forthcoming). As Donaldson and Preston put it, “The descriptive
accuracy of the theory presumes the truth of the core normative conception, insofar as it
presumes that managers and other agents act as if all stakeholders’ interests have intrinsic
value. In turn, recognition of these ultimate moral values and obligations gives
stakeholder management its fundamental normative base” (1995: 74). Moreover, these
authors assert that “the ultimate managerial implication of the stakeholder theory is that
managers should acknowledge the validity of diverse stakeholders interests and should
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