Abstract
In light of recent economic shocks and major societal challenges, increasingly globalized activists, politicians, academics, and practitioners alike demand that private companies, especially multinational enterprises, take greater account of the interests of not only their shareholders but also all stakeholders. This has led to a growing interest in firms’ social responsibilities and in new models of corporate governance (CG). By systematically reviewing recent scholarly CG literature, this article examines the extent to which stakeholders and their interests have gained importance compared to shareholders. Our review and analyses provide evidence of an increase in the adoption of CG practices that serve a wider range of stakeholder interests. In general, at the institutional and firm levels, there are remarkable shifts toward the adoption of stakeholder-oriented rules and practices. However, there is limited evidence that all of these trends will actually lead to a full convergence on a single stakeholder-oriented governance model. Our paper, furthermore, highlights the need for further research and, finally, emphasizes related, promising research directions.