Marginalized Stakeholder Theory: A Normative Foundation for Decolonization

• In Event: 20481 - Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3. Markets & Economic Development

Abstract

Traditional stakeholder scholars predominately focus on firms’ engagement with powerful stakeholders. This is a severe problem in postcolonial contexts where firms’ engagement with marginalized stakeholders is either neglected or ignored. I develop a marginalized stakeholder theory to emphasize that firms require a revision of their normative principles to decolonize their corporate activities. By doing so, firms would achieve a deeper engagement with marginalized stakeholders. This would not only help firms to overcome colonial legacies and reject neocolonial mindsets embedded into instrumental approaches but also develop decolonial engagement with marginalized stakeholders. To this end, I conceptualize three engagement approaches: proactive, reactive, and defensive. I posit that these approaches can be the basis for much needed structural and agential transformation for decolonization in and around firm-level activities and engagements.

Author

• Rashedur Chowdhury, University of Essex