Stakeholder Governance: Adapting Stakeholder Theory to E-Government

The e-government field, like most young fields, lacks a strong body of well-developed theory. One strategy for coping with theoretical immaturity is to import and adapt theories from other, more mature fields. This study reviews Stakeholder Theory (ST) and investigates its potential in relation to e-Government. Originally a management theory, stakeholder theory advocates addressing the concerns of all stakeholders in a firm, as opposed to concentration on the interests of senior managers and stockholders. Apart from its original profit focus, there is no serious conceptual mismatch between stakeholder theory and government’s objective of providing policy and services for citizens and organizations – society’s stakeholders. Potential problems with adapting a management theory to a government setting are discussed. The paper further discusses how information technology impacts a stakeholder model of governance. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for future work in adapting ST to the e-government context.