Stakeholder value creation in the intersection of business and sustainability

This article-based dissertation examines how businesses can create value with and for stakeholders in the context of sustainability. The dissertation increases understanding of how stakeholder theory as a strategic management theory can be used to address complex sustainability challenges. The dissertation consists of four independent studies which are a literature review on stakeholder value creation, a single case study on stakeholder value creation in CE business, a single study on sustainable value creation in green infrastructure collaboration and an empirical examination of CEOs’ corporate sustainability discourses. The dissertation argues that to create value in the context of sustainability, businesses must 1) adopt a systemic and relational view of value creation with a focus on stakeholder relationships; 2) build on joint value creation activities at multiple levels of society and beyond organisational boundaries; 3) perceive value as multidimensional; 4) address the complexity, tensions and competing demands related to sustainability; and 5) profoundly understand the relationships with the surrounding societal and natural environments. The dissertation relates to the CICAT2025 project from the perspective of a case study related to circular economy business and stakeholder cooperation and interaction. It broadly describes how business can be understood in relation to addressing broad sustainability challenges.

Author: Riikka Tapaninaho, Tampere University

Published: Trepo

Potential beneficiaries of the results: Ministries, companies, research and development organizations, cities and municipalities

More information:
Riikka Tapaninaho
riikka.tapaninaho@tuni.fi
Tampere University