Different types of Stakeholders
Service Providers
Service providers are organizations who offer services to other stakeholders. They can be internal or external, single companies or a consortium, serve in an open market, or individual.
Simply declared, the IT department is the service provider in a company because other departments or business units in that company are using its services, but in a more complex environment, a provider delivers service(s) to other businesses, individual consumers or in another hand, it is in partnership or collaboration with other providers and collaborates with them to deliver a section of service.
Customer
The person who defines the requirements for service and takes responsibility for the outcomes of service consumption.
User
The person who uses service.
Sponsor
The person who authorizes budget for service consumption.
Here is an example to declare the differences between user, customer and sponsor: Your father gives some money to your sister to buy a bicycle for you as a birthday gift. Your father is the sponsor, your sister is the customer, and you are the user.
Other stakeholders
Any other individuals, companies, or governmental institutes that communication with them is necessary to make the service successful are defined in terms of stakeholders. For example, charity organizations, employees, society, environmental organizations, and communities are stakeholders who affect the service and value creation. It’s important to co-create the value through service relationships. And also make note that the different stakeholders have different definitions of values and value co-creation needs collaboration and relationship of all stakeholders.
Organization
A person or a group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities, and relationships in order to achieve its objectives.
Note that an organization could play the role of a service provider and also simultaneously a service consumer role. It depends on the view.