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Design+ Speculative and participatory stakeholder mapping

visibility and voice – factors that have multiplied both of various planned activities. Therefore, organizations
the number and intensity of wicked problems. Therefore, need to know their stakeholders for decision-making
designers increasingly see themselves as responsible for processes and to design effective engagement strategies.
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shaping a better, more inclusive, sustainable, and ethical The identification of stakeholders is the first step in this
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world. This shift reflects a socially progressive view strategy, and it leads to a complete understanding of an
of the designed subject: design is not only tasked with organization’s stakeholder community. 10-13
meeting human needs but also with contributing to the Defining stakeholders is a taxing task, and several
improvement of society. Since the 1970s, this orientation scholars have contributed to determining what constitutes
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has given rise to various progressive and socially engaged a stakeholder. The present research relies on the classical
design approaches, including participatory design, social definition of Freeman and Reed, who identify a
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design, critical design, design fiction, and speculative stakeholder as an individual or group that can affect,
design. or be affected by, the achievement of an organization’s
These theories and practices share a common objectives. It also builds upon the broad idea of actual or
understanding that design can and should work to improve potential stakeholders proposed by Mitchell et al., which
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society and people’s condition. However, they differ in includes not only people, social groups, communities, and
their conceptual and practical approaches, methodologies, organizations, but also the natural environment.
and motivation to act through design. This study focuses To distinguish real stakeholders from potential
on two specific design practices: Participatory and stakeholders or non-stakeholders, in their seminal research
speculative design. It presents our recent research in which paper published in 1997, Mitchell et al. identified three
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these methods were implemented within an international criteria for stakeholdership: Power, legitimacy, and
non-profit organization to address a task that has been urgency. More recent scholarly works 16,17 identified other
extensively studied by scholars from different fields, criteria, such as influence, attitude, interest, support, and
particularly management and public policy. However, to contribution. The application of these criteria, however,
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the best of our knowledge, this task – the identification poses practical problems because, for example, there may
of an organization’s stakeholders – remains relatively be stakeholders who do not have power but are nevertheless
unexplored within design research and practice. This important for organizations and their managers. 15
is the first step for an organization to understand and
address complex, wicked challenges. To design for change, The claim that people or groups with no power,
organizations must understand the actors who can benefit legitimacy, or urgency are not stakeholders and are not
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from it, as well as those who may facilitate or hinder it. important to organizations’ managers is not entirely
convincing. This is because it keeps emerging stakeholders
This study presents and analyzes research performed who, in the near or far future, could be salient for the firm
through an exploratory design case study: a stakeholder or have a broader societal impact off the managers’ radar.
identification project conducted between November Indeed, Mitchell et al. recognized that people or groups that
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2024 and January 2025 for an international non-profit do not possess specific attributes are non-stakeholders or
organization in Europe involved in intellectual property potential stakeholders. The project described in this article
(IP) protection. The organization addresses significant took a pragmatic approach consistent with the inclusive
societal challenges by protecting innovations and promoting nature of design: stakeholder identification is understood
advancements that drive sustainable solutions for companies, to encompass both actual and potential stakeholders.
workers, and society. The main mission of the organization
is to receive and process IP registrations in its jurisdiction Extensive literature in the field of stakeholder theory
and to foster the development of a societal ecosystem claims that the objective of stakeholder management is
where IP rights are valued and protected. The project to create value for stakeholders 18-20 – or with stakeholders
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focused on the identification of the organization’s strategic, through a process of joint value creation. Value creation
general stakeholders that influence and are involved in the extends beyond the economic value that stakeholders may
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overarching activities of the organization, as opposed to seek, including financial and non-financial benefits. This
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specific project-related, operational stakeholders. argument can be extended to the firm that creates value –
indeed, a firm may seek to reach value beyond economic or
2. Literature review financial benefit – and it applies with particular strength to
non-profit organizations.
According to the stakeholder theory, or the stakeholder
approach to organizational management, stakeholders’ The research on stakeholder theory and value creation
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participation and engagement are key factors in the success has a potential gap because it considers value creation for
Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 2 doi: 10.36922/DP025060011