Recognizing definitive stakeholders in corporate environmental management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present four examples of stakeholder relationships related to issues of corporate environmental management (CEM) and analyze them based on the model of Mitchell et al. (1997). Design/methodology/approach – Secondary data are used in the case studies. Findings – The four cases presented show that basically any stakeholder can become definitive over time in the complex network of stakeholders with mutual relationships. The definitive stakeholders in CEM are no longer merely the NGOs and policymakers but now include many diverse groups such as customers, locals and suppliers. Research limitations/implications – These case studies cannot be generalized, but they could contribute to more comprehensive studies on stakeholder strategies in the future by raising up new CEM issues. Practical implications – The paper indicates that stakeholder strategies need to be changed in corporations over time. Latent stakeholders can become expectant and definitive stakeholders gradually over time. Originality/value – The paper presents and analyzes four different cases of corporation‐stakeholder relations in the field of corporate environmental management