Managing Stakeholder Relationships in Social Enterprise Organisations in North Central Nigeria

This study examines stakeholder relationship management in social enterprise organisations operating in North Central Nigeria, investigating how social enterprises in Abuja, Benue, and Kogi States navigate the complex and sometimes conflicting demands of funders, community beneficiaries, government regulators, and commercial partners. Effective stakeholder management is a critical professional competence for social enterprise leaders, who must simultaneously demonstrate social impact credibility to donors, commercial viability to investors, and community legitimacy to beneficiaries without compromising the organisation's core mission. The study employs a qualitative case study approach, examining five social enterprises operating in healthcare, vocational training, waste management, and agricultural development sectors. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with social enterprise founders and senior managers and with representatives of key stakeholder groups. Thematic analysis was applied to identify dominant stakeholder management strategies and their outcomes. Findings reveal that the most effective social enterprise stakeholder management combines transparent multi-stakeholder reporting that differentiates impact evidence for different audience types, proactive community advisory structures that give beneficiary communities formal input into enterprise decisions, and early negotiation of clear expectations with funders about the timeframe for commercial sustainability. Mission drift risk, the gradual subordination of social objectives to funder and commercial stakeholder preferences, is identified as a persistent governance challenge. Recommendations include professional training in social enterprise stakeholder governance for social enterprise founders in the North Central zone. Keywords: stakeholder management, social enterprise, North Central Nigeria, governance, mission drift.