80 Examples of Stakeholders

John Spacey, updated on October 19, 2023

A stakeholder is a person or organization that has an interest or concern in your business. These can include external stakeholders such as customers and internal stakeholders such as business units and departments in your organization. The following are common examples of stakeholders.

Antitrust Authorities	Auditors
Board of Directors	Bondholders
Business Customers	Business Units
Clients	Community Leaders
Consultants	Consumer Protection Agencies
Consumers	Contractors
Corporate Communications Teams	Creditors
Customers	Distribution Partners
Education Institutions	Emergency Services
Employees	Environmental Agencies
Environmental Groups	Executives & Managers
Extended Workforce	Federal Government
Financial Institutions	Financial Regulators
Founders	Franchisees
Freelancers	Health & Safety Regulators
Human Resources	Industry Associations
Industry Regulators	Information Technology Teams
Institutional Investors	Intellectual Property Offices
Internal Customers	International Customers
Interns	Investment Partners
Joint Venture Partners	Labor Departments
Labor Unions	Law Enforcement Agencies
Legal & Compliance Teams	Lenders & Debt Holders
Local Businesses	Local Government
Loyalty Program Members	Marketing & Sales Teams
Marketing Partners	Media & Journalists
Minority & Underrepresented Groups	Nonprofit Organizations
Operations Teams	Outsource Partners
Professional Service Partners	Quality Assurance Teams
Research and Development Partners	Residents
Retail Investors	Retired Employees
Sales Partners	Securities Regulators
Service Subscribers	Shareholders
State Governments	Strategic Partners
Subject Matter Experts	Subsidiaries
Suppliers	Tax Authorities
Technology Partners	Temporary Workers
Trade & Customs Authorities	Users
Vendor Personnel	Volunteers
Wholesale Customers	Youth Organizations

Investors

The owners of a business. Investors typically have a right to accurate and timely information such as regular financial statements. They may also have the right to approve or reject major decisions such as mergers & acquisitions.

Creditors

The creditors of a business typically have rights such as access to accurate and timely financial information.

Employees are essentially creditors where you owe them payments such as salary, commissions and pension.

Communities

The communities that are impacted by your business. For example, your impact on the quality of life, environment and economy of a city.

Residents near any of your operations can be viewed as community stakeholders.

Employees

Employees and other individual contributors to your organization. This includes trade unions that may be informed and consulted about things such as worker safety. Employee stakeholders can also include anyone who does work on your behalf such that they resemble an employee.

Governments

Government agencies such as regulatory bodies and tax authorities.

Partners

Partners including suppliers, consultants, industry partnerships, joint investments and initiatives.

Customers

Customers who depend on your products and services.

Internal Stakeholders

Internal stakeholders are stakeholders by virtue of their role in your organization.

Summary

There are 8 types of stakeholder as follows.

Notes

You would never typically consult all of the stakeholders above. Who you consult depends on what you are doing. For example, if you are renovating a coffee room, you might consult the managers and employees who work on that floor.

Overview: Stakeholders
Type	Governance
Definition	A person or organization that has an interest or concern in your business.
Related Concepts	Governance » Quality Of Life » Environment » Internal Stakeholders »