Survey Finds Strong Board Director Support for Stakeholder Capitalism Principles

The survey finds that while board directors everywhere support these principles, there is even greater enthusiasm outside the US. The UK-based Diligent Institute provides publicly available research on global board governance.

Stakeholder Capitalism skeptics take note: 91% of directors agree and 70% strongly agree with The World Economic Forum’s “2020 Davos Manifesto” which states: “A company is more than an economic unit generating wealth. Performance must be measured not only on the return to shareholders, but also on how it achieves its environmental, social, and good governance objectives.”

The report, entitled “Stakeholder Capitalism: Translating Corporate Purpose Into Board Practice,” includes responses from 406 corporate leaders who have direct knowledge of their boards’ activities around stakeholder capitalism and related issues. On the first two questions related to directors’ attitudes, only the responses of 282 people who identified themselves as board directors were included.

While 96% of directors in the rest of the world agree with the “Davos Manifesto,” only 84% of US directors do, Diligent observes in the report. “They are also less likely to strongly agree—77% of directors outside the US strongly agreed, and only 61% of US directors said the same.”

Of the respondents, 84% agree and 50% strongly agree that “We are in the midst of a fundamental change in capitalism from a primary focus on shareholder return towards a system in which corporations must have a societal purpose and serve all stakeholders (sometimes referred to as ‘stakeholder capitalism,’ ‘conscious capitalism,’ or ‘accountable capitalism’).”

The frequency of discussion about the impact of the decisions on non-shareholder stakeholders with very high frequency ballooned following the COVID-19 outbreak, the survey finds: 73% versus 42% last year say boards expect to discuss these issues quarterly.

Which stakeholder groups will boards most commonly consider in decision-making: 79% say employees; 70%, customers, and 47%, local communities.

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Master the Principles of Stakeholder Capitalism And Implementation Through Enterprise Engagement

Education, Certifications, and Information to Activate

Stakeholder Capitalism Available Nowhere Else

A complete learning, certification, and information program and a course syllabus for educators.

Training and Certification

Enterprise Engagement Alliance Education: Certified Engagement Practitioner; Advanced Engaged Practitioner, and Certified Engagement Solution Provider learning and certification programs on how to implement Stakeholder Capitalism principles at the tactical level.

International Center for Enterprise Engagement: The only training and certification program for ISO 30414 human capital reporting and ISO 10018 quality people management certification.

The EEA offers a complimentary course syllabus for educators.

Join the EEA to begin your certification process or see our other resources below.

Or contact Bruce Bolger; Bolger@TheICEE.org; 914-591-7600, ext. 230 to learn more.

THE ONLY BOOKS ON STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM IMPLEMENTATION

Enterprise Engagement for CEOs:The Little Blue Book for People-Centric Capitalists
This is the definitive implementation guide to Stakeholder Capitalism, written specifically to provide CEOs and their leadership teams a concise overview of the framework, economics, and implementation process of a CEO-led strategic and systematic approach to achieving success through people. (123 pages, $15.99)

Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap 5th Edition
The first and most comprehensive book on Enterprise Engagement and the new ISO 9001 and ISO 10018 quality people management standards. Includes 36 chapters detailing how to better integrate and align engagement efforts across the enterprise. (312 pages, $36.)

OTHER RESOURCES TO ACTUALIZE STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM
Communities: The Enterprise Engagement Alliance and Advocate and the Brand Media Coalition free resource centers offering access to the latest research, news, and case studies; discounts, promotions, referrals, and commissions, when appropriate to third-party solution providers from participating coalition solution provider members.

Enterprise Engagement Resources: EEXAdvisors.com provides the only curated online marketplace to access hundreds of solution providers in all areas of human capital management and enterprise engagement throughout the world.

Online Overview:
10-minute short course: click here for a 10-minute introduction to Enterprise Engagement and ISO standards from the Coggno.com learning platform.

Services:
•  The Engagement Agency at EngagementAgency.net, offering: complete support services for employers, solution providers, and technology firms seeking to profit from formal engagement practices for themselves or their clients, including Brand and Capability audits for solution providers to make sure their products and services are up to date.
•  C-Suite Advisory Service—Education of boards, investors, and C-suite executives on the economics, framework, and implementation processes of Enterprise Engagement.
•  Speakers Bureau—Select the right speaker on any aspect of engagement for your next event.
•  Mergers and Acquisitions. The Engagement Agency’s Mergers and Acquisition group is aware of multiple companies seeking to purchase firms in the engagement field. Contact Michael Mazer in confidence if your company is potentially for sale at 303-320-3777.

Enterprise Engagement Benchmark Tools: The Enterprise Engagement Alliance offers three tools to help organizations profit from Engagement. Click here to access the tools.
•  ROI of Engagement Calculator. Use this tool to determine the potential return-on-investment of an engagement strategy.
•  EE Benchmark Indicator. Confidentially benchmark your organization’s Enterprise Engagement practices against organizations and best practices.
•  Compare Your Company’s Level of Engagement. Quickly compare your organization’s level of engagement to those of others based on the same criteria as the EEA’s Engaged Company Stock Index.
•  Gauge Your Personal Level of Engagement. This survey, donated by Horsepower, enables individuals to gauge their own personal levels of engagement.

For more information, contact Bruce Bolger at Bolger@TheEEA.org, 914-591-7600, ext. 230.

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