Applying stakeholder theory to e-government: Benefits and limits

According to most scholars in the field, stakeholder theory is not a special theory on a firm's constituencies but sets out to replace today's prevailing neoclassical economic concept of the firm. Though stakeholder theory explicitly is a theory on a private sector entity, some scholars apply it to public sector organizations. This paper summarizes stakeholder theory, discusses its premises and justifications, compares its tracks, sheds light on recent attempts to join the two tracks, and discusses the benefits and limits of its practical applicability to the public sector using the case of a recent New York State e-Government initiative.