ABSTRACT
Abstract:Thetermstakeholderisapowerfulone.Thisisdue,toa significantdegree,toitsconceptualbreadth.Thetermmeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeopleandhenceevokespraiseorscornfrom awidevarietyofscholarsandpractitioners.Suchbreadthofinterpretation,thoughoneofstakeholdertheory'sgreateststrengths,is alsooneofitsmostprominenttheoreticalliabilities.Thegoalofthe currentpaperislikethatofacontrolledburnthatclearsawaysome oftheunderbrushofmisinterpretationinthehopeofdenyingeasy fueltothecriticalconflagrationthatwouldrazethetheory.Weaimto narrowitstechnicalmeaningforgreaterfacilityofuseinmanagementandorganizationalstudies.Byelaboratinganumberofcommon misinterpretations-criticalandfriendly-ofthetheory,wehopeto renderastrongerandmoreconvincingtheoryasastartingplacefor futureresearch.
