Posicionamiento histórico de los espacios educativos para la primera infancia

The stakeholder theory has been developing continuously over the past three decades. One of the first theorists to present the stakeholder theory as inherent in management discipline was Freeman (1984). He also proposed a general theory applicable to firms, which is based on the premise that firms should be accountable to a broad range of stakeholders (Solomon & Solomon, 2004). Freeman (1984, p. vi) defines stakeholder as ‘any group or individual who can effect or is effected by the achievement of corporation’s purpose’. Thus, the term stakeholder may cover a large group of participants; in fact, it applies to anyone who has a direct or indirect stake in the business (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2002). Stakeholders include shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, creditors and communities in the vicinity of the company’s operations, in addition to the public (Solomon, 2010).

According to Wheeler and Sillanpaa (1997), the stakeholders that should be taken into consideration in the governance structure include investors (including banks), managers, employees, customers, business partners (suppliers and subsidiaries), local communities, civil society (including regulators and pressure groups) and the natural environment. The relationship between the company and its internal stakeholders (such as employees, managers and owners) is framed by formal and informal rules that have been developed in the course of the relationship. The stakeholder theory supports the contention that ‘companies and society are interdependent and therefore the corporation serves a broader social purpose than its responsibilities to shareholders’ (Kiel & Nicholson, 2003a, p. 31).

Donaldson and Preston (1995) suggest that the literature on the stakeholder theory can be seen as having three branches: descriptive, instrumental and normative. The descriptive branch considers how managers deal with stakeholders and how they represent stakeholder interests, the nature of a company, the way managers think about managing, the way board members think about the interests of company constituencies

and how some companies are actually managed. The instrumental branch is concerned with the organisational consequences of taking into account stakeholders in management, examining the connections between stakeholder management and achieving traditional corporate goals such as profitability and growth. The normative branch addresses the purpose of a company, including the identification of moral or philosophical guidelines linked to the activities or management of that company.

Thus, the aim of the agency theory is to concentrate on shareholders’ rights and the separation of ownership from control so that a company can maximise the wealth of its shareholders. The stakeholder theory focuses not only on shareholders, but it has been expanded to take into account the interests of many different stakeholder groups, including interest groups with social, environmental and ethical considerations (Clarke, 2004; Letza, Sun & Kirkbride, 2004). This is consistent with the views of the OECD (2004), which defines corporate governance as a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders.

This view is commonly referred to as the stakeholder model of corporate governance, whereby stakeholders may include customers, suppliers, providers of complementary services and products, distributors, and employees. Thus, the theory holds that corporations should be managed for the benefit of all who have a stake in the firm. For example, Berman et al. (1999) document that a strategic stakeholder model used by companies to address the concerns of stakeholders will improve company performance. Wright et al. (2003, p. 267) argue that ‘stakeholder involvement in corporate governance must rely on a culture of trust, community and consensus rather than of individualistic opportunism as in a shareholder-based system’. The stakeholder theory serves to build good relationships between firms and various internal and external stakeholders in the broader environment, as it is essential for the implementation and improvement of effective governance mechanisms and processes (Christopher, 2010).

The stakeholder theory is particularly important for managers in a corporation, who have critical networks of relationships other than those with the owners, managers and employees who are part of the agency theory (Freeman, 1999). Kaplan and Norton (1996) argue that a company should develop relationships with customers by improving customer services, thereby enhancing its financial performance. Atkinson, Waterhouse and Wells (1997) emphasise that employees and communities also need to be included

in relationships in order to enhance financial performance. Recently, the stakeholder approach has become acceptable in the areas of accounting and finance (Solomon, 2010). Indeed, according to the stakeholder model, corporate governance is mainly concerned with how effective different governance systems are in encouraging long- term investment and commitment among the various stakeholders (Maher & Anderson, 2000). Thus, the stakeholder theory is an important theory in terms of corporate governance (Abu-Tapanjeh, 2009). Clearly, the influences and functional mechanisms relating to stakeholders can affect a firm’s ability and performance (Clarkson, 1995).

Corporate governance research discusses the stakeholder theory in relation to the responsibility that firms have to the wider community. This theory has gained in influence through suggestions that the practice of stakeholder management positively contributes to firm performance (Donaldson & Preston, 1995), with researchers finding a strong and consistent relationship between corporate governance and firm performance as a result of the stakeholder theory’s implementation (Udayasankar, Das & Krishnamurti, 2005). For instance, stakeholder relations have also been found to have a significant effect on firm performance, and Hillman and Keim (2001) establish a positive relationship between managing effective stakeholders and enhancing value for shareholders. Hillman and Keim argue that examining the link between stakeholders on the board and stakeholder performance could show a direct correlation with the financial performance of the firm.

According to Clarke (2004), if corporate managers are there to maximise the total wealth of the organisation, they must take into account the effects of their decisions on all stakeholders. Pesqueuy and Damak-Ayadi (2005) indicate that the practice of stakeholder management will result in higher profitability, stability and growth, and will thus affect firm performance. Consequently, good corporate governance must focus on creating a feeling of security that a company will consider the interests of stakeholders, as the board of directors is responsible for the company as well as its stakeholders (Ljubojevic & Ljubojevic, 2011). According to Jensen (2001), the stakeholder theory solves the problems caused by multiple objectives, as this theory seeks to maximise value in the long term. Moreover, if management decisions do not take into account the interests of all stakeholders, the firm cannot maximise its value.

In summary, the integration of the agency and stakeholder theories highlights the special role of the company toward shareholders and all other stakeholders. Hill and Jones (1992) contended that the stakeholder-agency paradigm explicitly focused on the causes of conflict between managers and stakeholders. In addition, the stakeholder- agency theory highlights the concepts underlying the alignment of management and stakeholders interests in the conflict of such interests. The agency theory calls for governance mechanisms to provide sufficient monitoring or control methods to protect shareholders from conflicts of interest with agents. The stakeholder theory, however, enables fostering good relationships with a range of stakeholders and emphasises corporate efficiency in a social context; it also underpins the corporation’s purpose of maximising shareholders’ wealth.

Therefore, using both theories is the most effective approach as compared to other governance theories, because it involves combining all the elements of corporate governance to improve firm performance. This study will rely on the agency theory- stakeholder theory that fits the nature and scope of the empirical work. Hence, the stakeholder-agency theory could provide some useful insights into the current research.