15 January 2015
A shareholder is a person or entity that owns shares in a corporation. A shareholder is entitled to vote for the board of directors and a small number of additional issues, as well as receive dividends from the business and share in any residual cash if the entity is sold or dissolved.
The term stakeholder represents a substantially more broad group, because it refers to anyone having an interest in the success or failure of a business. This group can include shareholders, but goes well beyond shareholders to also include creditors and customers, employees, the local community, and the government.