Marketing communication: principles and practice

T H E F U T U R E
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to the corporation as well as rights. This view is gaining wide acceptance
because managers realize that they need the support of these groups. Halal’s
return-on-resources model shows that all stakeholders invest financial and
social resources, they incur costs and expect gains – these resources are their
stake in the organization (see also Heath, 1994: chapter 6, for a discussion of
negotiated enactment of stakeholder interests). Halal’s analysis leads to a
theory of the nature of the firm:
Corporate managers are dependent on stakeholders because the
economic role of the firm is to combine as effectively as possible 
the unique resources each stakeholder contributes: the risk capital of
investors; the talents, training, and efforts of employees; the continued
patronage of customers; the capabilities of business partners; and the
economic infrastructure provided by government.
(1996: 67)
In this view, managers act as stewards engaged in a ‘social contract’ to draw
together this mix of resources and transform it into financial and social wealth,
which they can distribute among stakeholders to reward their contributions.
The closer the integration into a cohesive community, the greater is the
wealth. Stakeholders have different interests according to their unique roles
in the corporate community. These interests can be reconciled if they 
are organized to create a more successful enterprise. The goal of business,
therefore, should be to serve the public welfare of all stakeholders.
There are some problems to be resolved in putting this into practice, but
there are compelling reasons why the transition is occurring (Halal, 1996):
• the liberating power of information
• the benefits of cooperation
• the rising aspirations of people
• democratic ideals being extended into everyday life
• the new business model offers increasing productivity and social benefits,
without clashing with the profit-centred model of business – it is a logical
extension which helps to resolve the cultural contradictions of capitalism
(Bell, 1974)