IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/espost/251055.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stakeholder theory and the knowledge problem: A Hayekian perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Valentinov, Vladislav

Abstract

This paper explores the potential for stakeholder theory to illuminate what F.A. Hayek called "the knowledge problem", pertaining to how a society manages to utilize "knowledge not given to anyone in its totality". According to Hayek, this problem is addressed by the price system, which induces economic actors to harness local and dispersed pieces of knowledge that would not be available to a central planner. The present paper argues that the growing turbulence in the business environment, as pointed out by stakeholder theorists, poses a challenge to the ability of corporate managers to harness local knowledge. Stakeholder theory is shown to imply that, in a turbulent environment, managers' ability to do so is increasingly dependent on their access to the knowledge held by corporate stakeholders. This argument suggests that the building of stakeholder relationships is a crucial institutional solution to the knowledge problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentinov, Vladislav, 2022. "Stakeholder theory and the knowledge problem: A Hayekian perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 536-545.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:251055
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12383
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/251055/1/Valentinov_2022_Stakeholder_theory.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12383?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hodgson, Geoffrey M., 1998. "Competence and contract in the theory of the firm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 179-201, April.
    2. Ingo Pies & Philipp Schreck & Karl Homann, 2021. "Single-objective versus multi-objective theories of the firm: using a constitutional perspective to resolve an old debate," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 779-811, April.
    3. Edward Freeman, R. & Phillips, Robert A., 2002. "Stakeholder Theory: A Libertarian Defense," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 331-349, July.
    4. William J. Baumol, 2013. "The Microtheory of Innovative Entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 14(3), pages 96-108.
    5. Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2014. "Commitment Strategies for Sustainability: How Business Firms Can Transform Trade‐Offs Into Win–Win Outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 18-37, January.
    6. Bruce J. Caldwell, 1988. "Hayek's Transformation," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 513-541, Winter.
    7. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Beckmann, Markus, 2009. "Moral Commitments and the Societal Role of Business: An Ordonomic Approach to Corporate Citizenship," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 375-401, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "30 Jahre Wirtschaftsethik: Zur Entwicklung des ordonomischen Forschungsprogramms," Discussion Papers 2022-02, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    2. Felix Carl Schultz & Vladislav Valentinov & Robert Jaroslav Reinhardt & Ingo Pies, 2024. "The circular economy rebound effect: Reconceptualizing rebound approaches and mitigation opportunities from an ordonomic perspective," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(3), pages 374-385, June.
    3. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Everding, Sebastian, 2020. "Do hybrids impede sustainability? How semantic reorientations and governance reforms can produce and preserve sustainability in sharing business models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 174-185.
    4. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "30 Jahre Unternehmensethik: Ein ordonomischer Rückblick, Überblick und Ausblick," Discussion Papers 2022-01, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    5. Vladislav Valentinov & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2016. "Emergence: A Systems Theory’s Challenge to Ethics," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 29(6), pages 597-610, December.
    6. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "Kapitalismus(kritik) auf dem Prüfstand," Discussion Papers 2022-04, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    7. Will, Matthias Georg & Hielscher, Stefan, 2013. "How do companies invest in corporate social responsibility? An ordonomic contribution for empirical CSR research," Discussion Papers 2013-3, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    8. Pies, Ingo & Beckmann, Markus & Hielscher, Stefan, 2012. "The political role of the business firm: An ordonomic concept of corporate citizenship developed in comparison with the Aristoleian idea of individual citizenship," Discussion Papers 2012-1, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    9. Pies, Ingo, 2021. "Kapitalismus als System zur Verwirklichung moralischer Anliegen - Ordonomische Denkanstöße," Discussion Papers 2021-01, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    10. Pies Ingo & Sass Peter, 2011. "Wie sollte die Managementvergütung (nicht) reguliert werden? – Ordnungspolitische Überlegungen zur Haftungsbeschränkung von und in Organisationen / How Managerial Compensation Should (not) be Regulate," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 62(1), pages 231-268, January.
    11. Pies, Ingo & Sass, Peter, 2011. "Wie sollte die Managementvergütung (nicht) reguliert werden? Ordnungspolitische Überlegungen zur Haftungsbeschränkung von und in Organisationen," Discussion Papers 2011-2, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    12. Pies, Ingo, 2014. "Der ordonomische Ansatz: Eine Illustration am Beispiel des Mindestlohns," Discussion Papers 2014-17, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    13. Felix Carl Schultz & Robert Jaroslav Reinhardt, 2022. "Facilitating systemic eco‐innovation to pave the way for a circular economy: A qualitative‐empirical study on barriers and drivers in the European polyurethane industry," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(5), pages 1646-1675, October.
    14. Vladislav Valentinov, 2017. "The Rawlsian Critique of Utilitarianism: A Luhmannian Interpretation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 25-35, April.
    15. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "Management-Kompetenzen für nachhaltige Wertschöpfung: Anregungen aus ordonomischer Sicht," Discussion Papers 2022-06, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    16. Schultz, Felix Carl & Valentinov, Vladislav & Reinhardt, Robert Jaroslav & Pies, Ingo, 2024. "The circular economy rebound effect: Reconceptualizing rebound approaches and mitigation opportunities from an ordonomic perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 28(3), pages 374-385.
    17. Will, Matthias Georg & Hielscher, Stefan, 2012. "How do companies invest in corporate social responsibility? An ordonomic contribution for empirical CSR research," Discussion Papers 2012-2, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    18. Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2016. "Emergent Social Dilemmas in Modern Society: An Institutional Economics Perspective (A comment on Valentinov and Chatalova)," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 483-487, May.
    19. Hielscher, Stefan & Pies, Ingo & Prinz, Aloys, 2015. "Umfassende Organisationsethik für die moderne Gesellschaft: Ein systematischer Vergleich gewinnorientierter und nicht-gewinnorientierter Unternehmen," Discussion Papers 2015-8, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    20. Valentinov, Vladislav & Chia, Robert, 2022. "Stakeholder theory: A process‐ontological perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 762-776.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:251055. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zbwkide.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.