TY - JOUR AB - Purpose–This paper aims to critique moral stakeholder theory (MST) and to contrast it to earlier strategic stakeholder approach (SSA).Design/methodology/approach–Interview data were gathered from top executives at 12 companies in the energy sector in Canada and an in‐depth literature review was conducted on MST and SSA.Findings–“Value” for shareholder and stakeholder may not be mutually exclusive in some instances. MST may hold the key to giving the board a more useful, comprehensive framework of the firm's utility and purpose to society.Practical implications–Organizations may be selected on their ethical performance by investors. Depending on whether ethical criteria are included in the definition of “firm's value”, decisions about which stakeholder theory to use become an issue of strategic importance to all organizations.Originality/value–The paper illustrates how the board of directors as the governing body of the organisation may find that continuous assessment of the company's stakeholders is valuable in reducing risks. VL - 8 IS - 2 SN - 1472-0701 DO - 10.1108/14720700810863751 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700810863751 AU - Maharaj Rookmin PY - 2008 Y1 - 2008/01/01 TI - Critiquing and contrasting “moral” stakeholder theory and “strategic” stakeholder: implications for the board of directors T2 - Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 115 EP - 127 Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -