Abstract
The vast majority of empirical research on stakeholder management has traditionally focused on multinational corporations. Only in recent years, scholars have begun to pay attention to the stakeholder management concept within the context of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The few studies existing however discuss SMEs as a context free category or remain focused on single country analysis. This cross-national empirical research studies the small-business owner-managers’ perceptions of stakeholder management in six European countries. The comparative analysis is followed by a discussion about the linguistic and cultural elements that influence sensemaking of stakeholder management. The translation of the term “stakeholder” in the different languages and the context of its adoption and dissemination partially explain regional differences of perception. Our study questions the universality of management terms and warns that more attention should be paid to the institutional, cultural and linguistic environment that shape economic activity in different parts of Europe.