Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present an empirical, descriptive contribution to the literature on stakeholder management in the area of local government decision making. The research presented here examines the web of interactions, inter-connections and influences on local government authorities in Brazil and England. It provides a cross-cultural survey of Brazilian and English municipal districts with data being analysed using statistical techniques (Chi-squared is calculated to test for goodness of fit and Cronbach's alpha to test reliability). The paper identifies two stakeholder lists for the countries under investigation, and concludes that, despite cultural differences between Brazil and England, there is convergence in the way local government managers identify stakeholders. The empirical evidence provided here supports the hypothesis that stakeholder identification is very likely to be seen as a universal phenomenon. A comprehensive review of the extant literature revealed that this research constitutes the very first cross-cultural investigation that has focused on stakeholder identification in the local government domain.