TY - JOUR
T1 - Toward a theory of stakeholder salience in family firms
AU - Mitchell, Ronald K.
AU - Agle, Bradley R.
AU - Chrisman, James J.
AU - Spence, Laura J.
PY - 2011/4
Y1 - 2011/4
N2 - The notion of stakeholder salience based on attributes (e.g., power, legitimacy, urgency) is applied in the family business setting. We argue that where principal institutions intersect (i.e., family and business); managerial perceptions of stakeholder salience will be different and more complex than where institutions are based on a single dominant logic. We propose that (1) whereas utilitarian power is more likely in the general business case, normative power is more typical in family business stakeholder salience; (2) whereas in a general business context legitimacy is socially constructed; for family stakeholders, legitimacy is based on heredity; and (3) whereas temporality and criticality are somewhat independent in general-business urgency, they are linked in the family business case because of family ties and family-centered non-economic goals. We apply this theoretical framework to position and integrate the contributions to this special section of Business Ethics Quarterly on "Stakeholder Theory, Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Family Enterprise."
AB - The notion of stakeholder salience based on attributes (e.g., power, legitimacy, urgency) is applied in the family business setting. We argue that where principal institutions intersect (i.e., family and business); managerial perceptions of stakeholder salience will be different and more complex than where institutions are based on a single dominant logic. We propose that (1) whereas utilitarian power is more likely in the general business case, normative power is more typical in family business stakeholder salience; (2) whereas in a general business context legitimacy is socially constructed; for family stakeholders, legitimacy is based on heredity; and (3) whereas temporality and criticality are somewhat independent in general-business urgency, they are linked in the family business case because of family ties and family-centered non-economic goals. We apply this theoretical framework to position and integrate the contributions to this special section of Business Ethics Quarterly on "Stakeholder Theory, Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Family Enterprise."
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955738631&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5840/beq201121215
DO - 10.5840/beq201121215
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79955738631
SN - 1052-150X
VL - 21
SP - 235
EP - 255
JO - Business Ethics Quarterly
JF - Business Ethics Quarterly
IS - 2
ER -