Stakeholders and Business Strategy: A Role-Play Negotiation Exercise

Consideration of the interests of stakeholders as well as the potential impact of stakeholders on company decisions provide critical insight into dimensions of strategic decision making that may be overlooked using traditional strategy frameworks. Using a case based on a manufacturing company’s deliberation of a decision to offshore the manufacturing of its core products, this exercise exposes students to a variety of stakeholder perspectives through a role-play negotiation exercise. Students adopt the roles of top management, labor/employees, local suppliers, customers, city manager/local community, environmental activists, and shareholders. The negotiation activity is designed to raise student awareness of the importance of stakeholder analysis in the strategic decision-making process.