Purpose To demonstrate that stakeholder analysis has a significant contribution to make as a “middle ground” research method and as a means of organisational change. Design/methodology/approach A case study of performance appraisal in UK academic institutions uses stakeholder analysis to address issues of organisation performance and development in a way that bridges the divide between theory and practice. This approach is supported by locating stakeholder theory within modes of organisation enquiry, and by positioning it more specifically within its conceptual domain. Findings Demonstrates the integrity and value of stakeholder analysis as a “middle ground” research method via development of a stakeholder systems model that identifies design, operation and evaluation stages of the performance management process and links these to measures of effectiveness and equity. Research limitations/implications “Joined up thinking” in organisation analysis implies incorporation of quantitative and qualitative research methods in a holistic method of organisation enquiry. Stakeholder analysis illustrates how different research philosophies and methods can be combined in a pragmatic but robust way. Practical implications The stakeholder systems model builds on the concept of multi‐source approaches to performance appraisal. Both broaden the basis of assessment by incorporating stakeholder perspectives but, while the former seeks stakeholder consensus at the evaluation stage, the later incorporates multi‐source (stakeholder) perspectives on design, process and evaluation stages and on the system as a whole. Originality/value The paper demonstrates how stakeholder theory can draw from the conceptual clarity and intellectual rigour of “objective” epistemologies while retaining acceptance of the “soft”, unstructured and value‐based nature of organisation problems.
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