title: Extending stakeholder theory to promote resource management initiatives to key stakeholders: a case study of water transfers in Alberta, Canada.
abstract: Many attempts to implement resource management initiatives in Canadian and international communities have been resisted by stakeholders despite inclusion of their representatives in the decision-making process. Managers' failure to understand stakeholders' perspectives when proposing initiatives is a potential cause of this resistance. Our study uses marketing thought to enhance stakeholder theory by bringing in an audience-centric perspective. We attempt to understand how stakeholders perceive their interests in an organization and consequently decide how to influence that organization. By doing so, we investigate whether a disconnect exists between the perceptions of managers and those of stakeholders. Natural resource managers can utilize this knowledge to garner stakeholder support for the organization and its activities. We support this claim with findings from a water transfer plebiscite held in the Canadian province of Alberta. Sixteen personal interviews employing narrative inquiry were conducted to document voters' (i.e., irrigators') interpretations.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Management, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4. Electronic address: katie.lafreniere@uleth.ca.
authors.forename: Katherine C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lafreniere
authors.forename: Sameer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deshpande
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bjornlund
authors.forename: M Gordon
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hunter
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D040541:Marketing; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D062066:Water Resources
keywords: Narrative inquiry; Natural resource management; Stakeholder management; Stakeholder marketing; Water management; Water transfers