Definition
Stakeholder (Ro.: persoană care are un interes în companie, Gr.: ενδιαφερόμενο μέρος, Cz.: depozitář peněz)(See also: stockholder, stakeholder, private company, public company, corporate social responsibility) = a generic notion comprising, in a broad sense, any person who has a direct or indirect interest attached to a company. The main stakeholders in a corporation are its investors, employees, suppliers and customers. Some go further to adding community, government and trade associations to this concept.
Therefore, shareholders and stockholders are considered to be a subset of this notion, as a stakeholder may or may not own shares within a given company, and may therefore be interested in the performance of a company for a wide range of reasons other than stock appreciation.
Useful links
Legislation
http://www.cdep.ro/legislatie/eng/vol32eng.pdf - Romania, Law on trading companies no. 31/1990, translated into English; Law on trading register no. 26/1990, translated into English
http://www.libertas-institut.com/de/MK/nationallaws/Trade_companies.pdf – Macedonia, Law on trade companies, translated into English
http://www.mit.gov.jo/portals/0/tabid/502/Companies%20Law.aspx – Jordan, The companies’ Law no. 22/1997, translated into English
http://www.trade.gov.mv/downloads/4dbe5307765de_Company%20Act%20%28English%29.pdf – Maldive, The companies’ Act no. 10/1996, translated into English (unofficial translation)
http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=98894 – South Africa, Companies Act no. 71/2008
Publications
Pettet, B.G., 2005, Company law, 2nd ed., Pearson Education Limited
Griffin, S., 2006, Company law: fundamental principles, 4th ed., Pearson Education Limited
http://hbr.org/2012/07/what-good-are-shareholders - What good are shareholders?, Harvard Business Review
http://www.jstor.org/stable/258887 - The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications, The Academy of Management Review
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/01/050201.asp - Knowing your rights as a shareholder
By Andrada Rusan