The role of stakeholders in the process of building a competi-tive advantage with the example of development companies

Research background: Contemporary companies are faced with opportunities as well as dangers resulting from relationships with their environment. It is therefore important to define stakeholders and manage relations with them by implement-ing organizational principles and practices that take into account stakeholders' concerns and objectives, but are also consistent with a company's strategy and its economic goals (Banks, Vera, Pathak, Ballard, 2016, pp. 18-27). Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is a diagnosis of a sort of the theory of stakeholders present in the relevant literature. In addition, stakeholder identifi-cation was presented along with their role in the process of building a competitive advantage of a development company. Methodology/methods: An analysis of secondary sources was verified by empiri-cal studies. An analysis of the role of stakeholders in the functioning of an enter-prise was made using the so-called 'brainstorming method'. The study was con-ducted with the students of faculties at the Faculty of Management of the Bi-alystok Technical University in December 2012 and in the years 2014-2016. Findings & Value added: In the first part of the article, the key assumptions of the stakeholder theory and their impact on the competitiveness of entities are discussed, and the term "a development company" is defined. The second part presents conclusions from empirical research. These made it possible to formulate a list of main stakeholders who contribute to building a competitive advantage for developers. These entities are included in several groups: customers, suppliers, strategic partners, regulators and current and potential competitors.