How Do European SME Owner–Managers Make Sense of 'Stakeholder Management'?: Insights from a Cross-National Study

Hans-Jörg Schlierer, Andrea Werner, Silvana Signori, Elisabeth Garriga, Heidi von Weltzien Hoivik, Annick van Rossem and Yves Fassin
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Hans-Jörg Schlierer: EM - EMLyon Business School
Andrea Werner: Middlesex University
Silvana Signori: UniBg - Università degli Studi di Bergamo = University of Bergamo
Elisabeth Garriga: EADA Business School Barchelona - EADA
Heidi von Weltzien Hoivik: BI Norwegian Business School [Oslo]
Annick van Rossem: Hogeschool Universiteit Brussel - Hogeschool Universiteit Brussel

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Abstract: The vast majority of empirical research on stakeholder management has traditionally focused on multinational corporations. Only in recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the stakeholder management concept in relation to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The few existing studies in this area, however, discuss SMEs as a context free category or remain focused on single country analysis. This cross-national empirical research investigates SME owner–managers' perceptions of stakeholder management in six European countries. The comparative analysis is followed by a discussion of how institutional, cultural and linguistic contexts can influence owner–managers' sensemaking of stakeholder management. Our study questions the universality of specific management terms and proposes that more attention should be paid to the institutional, cultural and linguistic environments that shape economic activity in different parts of Europe.

Keywords: Comparative research; Language; National business environments; Sensemaking; Small- and medium-sized enterprises; Small business; Stakeholder management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-08-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published in Journal of Business Ethics, 2012, 109 (1), 39-51 p. ⟨10.1007/s10551-012-1378-3⟩

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Journal Article: How Do European SME Owner–Managers Make Sense of ‘Stakeholder Management’?: Insights from a Cross-National Study (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02312832

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1378-3

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