The dominant shareholder-value model has led to mismanagement, market failure and a boost to regulation, as spectacularly demonstrated by the events surrounding the recent financial crisis. Stakeholders Matter challenges the basic assumptions of this model, in particular traditional economic views on the theory of the firm and dominant theories of strategic management, and develops a new understanding of value creation away from pure self-interest toward mutuality. This new ‘stakeholder paradigm’ is based on a network view, whereby mutuality enhances benefits and reduces risks for the firm and its stakeholders. The understanding of mutual value creation is operationalized according to the license to operate, to innovate and to compete. The book develops a vision for a strategy in society in which, rather than the invisible hand of the market, it is the visible hands of the firm and the stakeholders that lead to an overall increase in the welfare of society.

Chapter 1: Challenges for a new paradigm in strategic management
Chapter 2: The economic paradigm and its basic assumptions
Chapter 3: Contribution of stakeholder theory to our understanding of the stakeholder paradigm
Chapter 4: The stakeholder paradigm
Chapter 5: Our understanding of the stakeholder paradigm operationlized in the three licenses
Chapter 6: License to operate
Chapter 7: License to innovate
Chapter 8: License to compete
Chapter 9: Challenges resulting from a paradigm shift