What is Corporate Social Responsibility? - InnoTrain CSR

CSR interfaces within the company
3.3. Stakeholder relationships in the CSR strategy
In short
Stakeholders (target groups) of a company include any persons, groups or
organisations which are affected by the respective corporate activity.
Stakeholder relationships are considered reciprocal if target groups
themselves are influencing the company. Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) requires companies to know about the needs and requirements of their
stakeholders and to maintain a systematic stakeholder dialogue.
Learning targets
� Get to know the principles of stakeholder relationships in the CSR concept
� Identify stakeholders and their CSR topics based on practical examples
CSR learning contents
Stakeholders of a company are any persons, groups or organisations connected to a
corporate activity with financial and non-financial interests, expectations and claims.
Typical stakeholders include shareholders, customers, employees, the local
population (citizen's groups, if applicable), authorities, media, NGOs and consumer
protection groups.
Contrary to the holistic concept of stakeholder relationships as target groups and
proprietors of interests of a company, the concept of shareholders is often in the
foreground in economic science and in practice. Shareholders are holders of shares,
stock owners or members of a company who are expecting the company to raise the
shareholder value, i.e. to maximise the stock price and the dividend. Shareholders
are clearly financial "investors" of a company with an overriding legitimate claim for a
monetary return. In the CSR concept of a company, shareholders form an important,
but not exclusively strategic orientation.
A stakeholder analysis is generally one of the first steps for the development of a
CSR concept. This analysis is designed to determine the main target groups for the
company, clarify different meanings and degrees of stakeholder influence and
identify possible expectations. Then a communication strategy for the stakeholder
dialogue can be drafted or an equalisation strategy prepared in case of diverging
interests or conflicts of interest.
The project "InnoTrain CSR" is organized by GILDE GmbH and has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 12/2010
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