In a corporation, a stakeholder is a member of "groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist",[1] as defined in the first usage of the word in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research Institute.
For examples these are parents, children, customers, owners, employees, associates, partners, contractors, and suppliers, people that are related or located nearby.
In the last decades of the 20th century, the word "stakeholder" became more commonly used to mean a person or organization that has a legitimate interest in a project or entity.
In discussing the decision-making process for institutions—including large business corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations—the concept has been broadened to include everyone with an interest (or "stake") in what the entity does.
Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources.
The stakeholders in a corporation are the individuals and constituencies that contribute, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to its wealth-creating capacity and activities, and that are therefore its potential beneficiaries and/or risk bearers.