Stakeholder capitalism and the value chain

The purpose of this article by Edward Freeman and Jeanne Liedtka is to explore the idea of stakeholder capitalism. In particular, it is argued that a firm grounding of the idea on four principles, yields a view of business as creating value for stakeholders. To further elaborate stakeholder capitalism it must be connected to the central themes in business strategy. In this article, the value chain is reinterpreted in stakeholder terms. A method of analysis for key stakeholder relationships is explained, and general principles for conceptualizing the value chain in relational terms are suggested.