The Stakeholders’ Role in the Corporate Strategy Creation for the Sustainable Development of Russian Industrial Enterprises

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the interests of stakeholders and their influence on the strategic guidelines for the sustainable development of industrial enterprises in the Russian fuel and energy complex. Environmental safety is one of the components of the corporate strategy implementation for the sustainable development of industrial enterprises. The significance of this component is determined not so much by the regulatory institutional impact as by the transformation of economic agents’ behavior in the market: consumers, partners, investors, competitors who are stakeholders. This study defines the composition of stakeholders for Russian industrial enterprises leading in the field of sustainable development based on the results of ESG-ratings. It also identifies their priority interests and the sustainable development goals of industrial companies. Based on the analysis of open reports on the sustainable development of Russian industrial enterprises, the article identifies the key goals of sustainable development for stakeholders of Russian industrial enterprises in the fuel and energy complex. An analysis of the mechanism for organizing interaction with stakeholders shows that for most stakeholder groups, interaction is implemented through the non-financial reporting of companies. The study concludes that a proactive approach will enable companies to identify sustainable development issues with the greatest long-term potential, and thus to create a system of preventive strategic action.