Stakeholder analysis in higher education

Abstract

The issue of stakeholder identification and management is relatively well understood in the literature for private sector organisations (Christopher et al 2002, Rutterford et al 2006), and its importance is increasing across all developed countries (Maassen 2000, Wit and Verhoeven 2000, Peters 1996, Kettle 2002). However, whilst stakeholder theory has been advanced in commercial arenas (Donaldson and Preston 1995), there is less research in the public and non‐profit areas (Bryson 2004), particularly with regard to universities. Stakeholder identification and management are important disciplines in terms of effective management (Mitchell et al 1997) ‘making decisions’ and planning strategy (Bryson 2004), identifying problems to be solved (Freeman 1984), and ultimately knowing who may exert their influence over the organisation (Mitchell et al 1997). Identifying and understanding the stakeholders of relevance to an organisation, and their influence or interest, is therefore of key importance to managers and policy‐makers. The aim of this paper is to investigate this gap in the literature, namely specific understanding of stakeholders and the nature of stakeholder management for universities. In this context the study focuses on the identification and prioritisation of stakeholders for a UK university, a process that may be ‘key to the success of public sector organisations’ (Bryson 2004). Whilst stakeholder identification and classification is a familiar concept, its application to the particular context of a UK university is less explored, and this paper aims to drive more effective university stakeholder management through ‘improving management, creating public value and advancing the common good’ (Bryson 2004). The paper employs a case study approach that focuses on the University of Portsmouth, a large, modern UK university.