When mapping a company’s ecosystem, the instinct is often to place the business at the center, with stakeholders radiating outward. This reflects an outdated view that only business creates value—by cleverly organizing otherwise unproductive resources. This idea is misleading.

Value is collectively created by a network of stakeholders, each contributing in its own way. The company is the orchestrating force—it sets the pace, provides the tools, and safeguards the purpose. But true value creation requires an entire ecosystem: engaged employees, constructive regulators, patient long-term shareholders, healthy suppliers, abundant natural resources, and committed local communities.

A business must take care of this environment if it is to sustain value creation.

The theory of stakeholders emerged in the 1960s, before the rise of Friedman’s economic doctrine. It gained definition through the foresight work of the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), which described stakeholders as “groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist” (Long Range Planning Service Report No. 168).

Stakeholders include all those who contribute to a company’s economic life—employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. They also observe and influence its internal and external behaviors—trade unions, NGOs, and certification bodies. Finally, they are those affected, positively or negatively, by its activities—local communities, public authorities, and the state.

The web of interdependencies between a business and its stakeholders forms its ecosystem. Today’s renewed focus on this approach stems from two significant shifts. First, the growing permeability between business and society, which brings employee well-being and purpose-driven work into the corporate sphere. Second, the increasing pressures on external stakeholders, making value creation more difficult and threatening business sustainability.

Regulatory frameworks such as the Duty of Vigilance Law, the CSRD and extra-financial reporting, and the PACTE Law have reinforced the role of stakeholders in corporate responsibility. Simultaneously, more stakeholders now claim the right to be informed, consulted, and involved in decision-making. Businesses are placing greater emphasis on this dialogue because it is stakeholders who grant legitimacy to an organization’s societal utility and its social license to operate (SLO).

Instead of placing itself at the center of its ecosystem, a business should put value at the core. By doing so, it nurtures the very environment on which it depends. Understanding stakeholder perceptions and expectations is key to engaging them. Acting with stakeholders ensures a fair distribution of responsibilities. More importantly, by identifying the pressures that prevent each stakeholder from fully contributing to value creation, companies unlock the path to deep, resilient performance.

At Eranos, we map the value-creation ecosystem of our clients before any transformation effort. By engaging stakeholders early, we ensure their commitment to implementation—because the project we deploy is, ultimately, their project.

Economist Mariana Mazzucato suggests four small steps to move toward a stakeholder economy: