A stakeholder is anyone who can affect, or be affected by, an organisation, project, strategy or decision. Stakeholders may be individuals or groups, internal or external, powerful or apparently powerless, supportive or opposed.
Stakeholder definition and meaning
The word stakeholder describes a person, group or organisation with an interest in, influence over, or exposure to the outcome of an activity. In project management, this can include people who approve the work, deliver it, use its outputs, fund it, regulate it or live with its consequences.
A stakeholder is anybody who can affect or is affected by an organisation, strategy or project. They can be internal or external and at senior or junior levels. stakeholdermap.com
This broad definition is useful because it includes people who may have little formal authority but can still determine whether a change succeeds. Frontline employees, customers, service users, local communities and support teams can all affect adoption, reputation and long-term value.
A stakeholder is not the same as a shareholder. A shareholder owns shares in a company. A stakeholder may have no ownership at all, but can still influence or be affected by the organisation's actions.
Examples of stakeholders
Stakeholders vary by organisation and project. The following examples show how broad the group can be.
Internal stakeholders
- Employees and frontline users
- Project managers and project teams
- Senior leaders and board members
- Finance, HR, legal and IT teams
- Product owners and operational managers
- Trade union or staff representatives
External stakeholders
- Customers and service users
- Suppliers, contractors and partners
- Regulators and government bodies
- Investors, lenders and shareholders
- Local communities and interest groups
- Media, professional bodies and campaigners
Examples in different contexts
| Context | Typical stakeholders |
|---|---|
| IT implementation | Users, IT support, information security, data protection, suppliers, customers and senior sponsors |
| Construction project | Client, contractors, planners, neighbours, local authority, regulators, utilities and future users |
| Organisational change | Employees, managers, HR, trade unions, customers, partners, regulators and communications teams |
| Public service | Citizens, service users, elected representatives, taxpayers, charities, staff and funding bodies |
For longer industry-specific examples, see our list of 105 stakeholders, project stakeholders, construction stakeholders and IT project stakeholders.
Types of stakeholders
Stakeholders can be grouped in several ways. These categories help you organise a long list before carrying out detailed analysis.
Internal and external stakeholders
Internal stakeholders sit within the organisation, while external stakeholders sit outside its formal boundary. Both can have high or low influence and both can support or oppose a project.
Primary and secondary stakeholders
- Primary stakeholders are directly affected, such as employees using a new system or residents affected by construction.
- Secondary stakeholders are affected more indirectly, such as professional bodies, media or internal support functions.
Key stakeholders
Key stakeholders are the people or groups whose support, resources, authority or influence is especially important. They may be primary or secondary stakeholders. A senior sponsor may be a key stakeholder because of formal authority, while a respected frontline employee may be key because colleagues trust their opinion.
How leading stakeholder definitions differ
There is no single definition used in every discipline. The main difference is whether a stakeholder must have power to influence an organisation, or whether being affected is enough.
| Source | Main idea | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| R. Edward Freeman | Includes groups or individuals who can affect, or are affected by, organisational objectives. | Creates a broad and inclusive stakeholder list. |
| Eden and Ackermann | Focuses on people or groups with enough power to respond, negotiate or influence strategic change. | Prioritises influential stakeholders but may omit less powerful affected groups. |
| John Bryson | Emphasises claims on an organisation's attention, resources or outputs, including those affected by them. | Useful for public, nonprofit and socially accountable decision-making. |
| Project and programme management | Usually includes people or organisations that can influence the work or experience its outcomes. | Connects stakeholder identification directly to project risk, governance and delivery. |
| stakeholdermap.com | Anyone who can affect or be affected by an organisation, strategy or project. | Provides a practical starting point before prioritising through stakeholder analysis. |
A narrow definition can make a stakeholder list easier to manage, but it increases the risk of overlooking people who are affected without having formal authority. A broad definition is usually safer at the identification stage; you can prioritise later using a stakeholder matrix or stakeholder analysis.
Why your stakeholder definition matters
The way you define who counts as a stakeholder shapes every later decision about analysis, communication and engagement. If you list only senior decision-makers, you may miss the people who determine whether the project works after implementation.
A broad definition helps you:
- Spot hidden risks by including people who may resist, delay or undermine adoption.
- Find potential champions who can explain benefits and influence colleagues.
- Improve decisions by including operational knowledge and different perspectives.
- Protect trust and reputation by considering people who are affected but not always heard.
- Plan realistic engagement rather than communicating only with formal governance groups.
A practical example
Call centre employees may have little influence over the purchase of a new CRM system, but they can determine whether it delivers value. If the system is difficult to use, training is poor or the team does not adopt its full capabilities, benefits and return on investment may not be achieved. These employees are therefore important stakeholders even if they did not approve the project.
How to identify stakeholders
Begin with an inclusive list. Do not try to prioritise too early; first capture everyone who may influence or experience the outcome.
- Clarify the scope. Define the project, strategy, decision or change you are analysing.
- Brainstorm names and groups. Involve the project team and people with operational knowledge.
- Review existing evidence. Check organisation charts, contracts, process maps, previous project documents, risk registers and lessons learned.
- Use categories. Consider users, beneficiaries, governance groups, providers, influencers, regulators, communities and support functions.
- Ask who is missing. Include people with little formal power, potential opponents and groups affected indirectly or after go-live.
- Validate the list. Review it with colleagues and update it when the project changes.
Useful identification techniques
- Brainstorming: capture one stakeholder per sticky note, then group related names.
- Mind mapping: organise people around the project, organisation or service.
- Stakeholder lists: use a generic list as a prompt, then adapt it to your context.
- Interviews and workshops: ask sponsors, subject experts and frontline teams who matters.
- Document review: inspect plans, governance papers, contracts, risks and previous lessons.
For a ready-made starting point, use the stakeholder management templates or our stakeholder list.
Common stakeholder identification mistakes
- Listing only senior decision-makers. This overlooks users, support teams and people who experience the effects of the project.
- Treating “the business” as one stakeholder. Large organisations contain groups with different priorities, incentives and concerns.
- Ignoring opponents or sceptics. Resistance is easier to understand and manage when it is identified early.
- Assuming formal role equals attitude. Senior stakeholders are not always supportive and frontline staff are not always resistant.
- Forgetting indirect and future effects. Some stakeholders become important only after implementation or during business as usual.
- Failing to revisit the list. Power, interest and membership change throughout the project.
From stakeholder identification to engagement
Identification tells you who your stakeholders are. The next step is to understand what they need, how much influence they have and how you should involve them.
Stakeholder FAQs
Are shareholders the same as stakeholders?
No. Shareholders own shares in a company and are one stakeholder group. Stakeholders also include employees, customers, suppliers, regulators, communities and anyone else who can affect or be affected by an outcome.
Are employees always stakeholders?
Yes. Employees are affected by an organisation's strategy, performance, culture and change. Some employees may also be key stakeholders because their knowledge, influence or adoption is essential.
Do stakeholders have to be powerful?
No. Power is useful when prioritising engagement, but it should not decide who counts as a stakeholder. People with little formal power can still be highly affected or determine whether a change works in practice.
Can one person belong to several stakeholder groups?
Yes. A senior manager might be an executive decision-maker, a project-board member and a user of the new process. Your analysis should recognise these overlapping roles and interests.
How many stakeholders is too many?
There is no ideal number. Start with an inclusive list, then use stakeholder analysis to decide who requires close management, regular consultation, occasional updates or monitoring.
When should the stakeholder list be reviewed?
Review it at the start of each phase, after major decisions and whenever risks, scope, governance or delivery arrangements change. New stakeholders can appear and the influence of existing stakeholders can rise or fall.
References and further reading
- Bryson, J. (2004), What to Do When Stakeholders Matter, Public Management Review, 6(1), pp. 21–53.
- Eden, C. and Ackermann, F. (1998), Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic Management, Sage.
- Freeman, R. E. (1984), Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman.
- Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R. and Wood, D. J. (1997), “Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience”, Academy of Management Review, 22(4), pp. 853–886.