The concept of Impactholders originates from the Enlightened Management and Impact Marketing frameworks by Prof. Gabriele Carboni and Prof. Philip Kotler, where companies are viewed as ecosystems of shared responsibility rather than isolated economic entities. It evolves from Stakeholder Theory (Freeman, 1984) and Shared Value Creation (Porter & Kramer, 2011), aligning with the principles of Civil Economy and the People × Purpose × Planet (P³) model. While stakeholders represent all who are affected by or affect an organization’s activities, Impactholders represent those who actively participate in generating measurable positive outcomes for people, communities, and the planet.

Impactholders are the next step in the evolution of stakeholder engagement.
They are partners in impact, co-designing, co-managing, and co-measuring the positive transformations that organizations aim to achieve.

Their defining characteristics include:

1. Active participation – they are involved in decision-making, innovation, and value creation processes.

2. Shared responsibility – they recognize the mutual dependence between business prosperity and collective well-being.

3. Purpose alignment – they act in harmony with the organization’s purpose, contributing to both social and economic goals.

4. Generativity – they create new opportunities, not only for themselves but for others, amplifying the company’s impact.

5. Measurement and accountability – they are engaged in defining and assessing impact indicators that reflect authentic progress.

In Enlightened Management, the transformation from stakeholders to impactholders marks a shift from interest to commitment, from transactional to generative relationships.

This approach redefines capitalism as a participatory ecosystem, where prosperity arises from shared engagement and measurable impact rather than isolated performance.

Impactholders thus become co-authors of a company’s narrative, contributing not just feedback but energy, creativity, and accountability toward common goals.

A company that involves employees, customers, and suppliers in the co-design of sustainability initiatives—such as circular economy projects or social inclusion programs—transforms them into impactholders. For instance, when a fashion brand collaborates with its consumers and artisans to create transparent supply chains and ethical collections, each participant becomes part of the impact ecosystem, not merely an observer.