Nusantarazation Theory of Stakeholder Engagement: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Stakeholder Relations in the Malaysian-Indonesian World

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement has become a dominant framework within management, governance, sustainability studies, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourse. Nevertheless, mainstream stakeholder engagement literature remains heavily shaped by Euro-American epistemological assumptions emphasizing managerial rationality, institutional authority, contractual relations, and market-centered governance. This article introduces the Nusantarazation Theory of Stakeholder Engagement as a decolonial and indigenizing theoretical framework grounded in the socio-civilizational realities of the Nusantara world, particularly Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Using a critical-conceptual approach informed by decolonial theory, Global South epistemology, and indigenous governance perspectives, the article argues that stakeholder engagement within Nusantara societies is fundamentally relational, communal, moral-spiritual, and culturally embedded rather than merely procedural and transactional. Drawing upon indigenous concepts such as musyawarah, gotong-royong, adat, kekitaan, merantau, and Islamic ethical principles, the article critiques the epistemic limitations of mainstream stakeholder engagement scholarship and reconstructs stakeholder theory through Nusantara-centered analytical lenses. The article also integrates contemporary discussions concerning migration, cultural heritage, humanitarian activism, food systems, and CSR practices within the Malaysian-Indonesian world to demonstrate the practical relevance of Nusantarazation Theory across diverse organizational and social contexts. Ultimately, the study contributes a theoretically grounded framework capable of expanding stakeholder scholarship toward a more culturally embedded, epistemically plural, and decolonized understanding of organizational engagement.