Stakeholder governance: insights from stakeholder engagement

• Ano de defesa: 2025
• Autor(a) principal: Góes, Helna Almeida de Araujo
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Análise de regressão; Corporate Sustainability Index; Engajamento de stakeholders; Governança de stakeholders; Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial; Regression analysis; Stakeholder engagement; Stakeholder governance
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12139/tde-05122025-113554/

Stakeholder governance has gained traction as firms are increasingly urged to align corporate behavior with societal expectations. Yet, despite growing attention, the concept remains theoretically ambiguous and empirically underexplored. This study addresses the need for greater clarity by investigating the dynamics that motivate firms to adopt stakeholder governance. We define stakeholder governance as a strategic capability whereby businesses and stakeholders co-construct and sustain equitable and accountable relationships through meaningful engagement, integrating their interests and sharing responsibility in decision-making that guides organizational conduct. Grounded in stakeholder theory, we analyze the interplay between stakeholder engagement and governance. Since stakeholder engagement strategies aim at communicating corporate intent regarding these interactions, our rationale is that stakeholder engagement influences the adoption of stakeholder governance. Our research responds to recent calls for studies that move beyond normative aspirations and empirically examine stakeholder governance. To this end, this study has three main objectives: i) to provide clarification of the concept of stakeholder governance, detailing its definitions, significance, and impacts, ii) to examine the nuances and interconnections between stakeholder governance and stakeholder engagement, and iii) to test the role of stakeholder engagement strategies as determinants that shape the adoption of stakeholder governance. In this regard, we employ a quantitative research strategy analyzing a sample of Brazilian firms listed in the B3 that adhere to the Corporate Sustainability Index, enabling empirical testing of the relationships among these constructs from 2021 to 2023 through random effects regression analysis. Findings indicate that lower-complexity engagement is negatively associated with stakeholder governance, whereas higher-complexity engagement shows a positive association. These results contribute to both theory and practice by demonstrating how engagement dynamics shape stakeholder governance structures. Our discussion contributes to the theoretical debate by analyzing the conditions under which firms establish stakeholder governance. We conclude with reflections on the implications for stakeholder governance research and practice and highlight avenues for future research.