The Stakeholder Salience Model

Why Two Dimensions Aren't Enough

The classic power-interest grid plots stakeholders on two axes: how much power they have and how interested they are. It's a useful starting point, but it misses a critical question: just because someone is powerful and interested, should they command your attention? In 1997, Ronald Mitchell, Bradley Agle, and Donna Wood published a landmark paper arguing that stakeholder prioritization requires three attributes, not two: power, legitimacy, and urgency.

Their salience model explains why managers pay more attention to some stakeholders than others, and it gives practitioners a more nuanced framework for deciding where to focus limited engagement resources.

Power, Legitimacy, and Urgency

Power is the ability to impose one's will — through coercion (force or threat), utilitarian means (financial rewards or penalties), or normative pressure (social expectations and shame). A government regulator has coercive power, a major investor has utilitarian power, and a respected civil society leader has normative power.

Legitimacy is the perception that a stakeholder's claim is appropriate, proper, and deserved within prevailing social norms. A community displaced by a dam project has a legitimate claim regardless of whether they have power. Legitimacy is socially constructed — it depends on who is judging and what norms apply.

Urgency has two components: time sensitivity (the degree to which delay is unacceptable to the stakeholder) and criticality (the importance of the claim to the stakeholder). A labor union facing imminent layoffs has both time sensitivity and criticality. A think tank publishing a policy paper on long-term reform may have criticality but low time sensitivity.

The Seven Stakeholder Classes

The model creates seven stakeholder types based on which attributes they possess:

One attribute (latent stakeholders): Dormant stakeholders have power but no legitimacy or urgency — like a wealthy individual who could intervene but hasn't yet. Discretionary stakeholders have legitimacy but no power or urgency — like a beneficiary community with a moral claim but no leverage. Demanding stakeholders have urgency but neither power nor legitimacy — like a vocal critic with no real claim.

Two attributes (expectant stakeholders): Dominant stakeholders have power and legitimacy — they expect and receive attention. Dependent stakeholders have legitimacy and urgency but lack power — they depend on others to champion their cause. Dangerous stakeholders have power and urgency but lack legitimacy — they may resort to coercion because they can't make a legitimate claim.

Three attributes (definitive stakeholders): When a stakeholder possesses power, legitimacy, and urgency simultaneously, their salience is highest. Managers will — and should — prioritize them. A stakeholder can shift classes as conditions change: a dormant stakeholder who gains urgency becomes dangerous or definitive.