As per Wheeler and Sillanpaa (1997), stakeholders can be classified into following categories: 
2.4 Identification of stakeholders and their Roles
Having a diverse set of stakeholders helps as they are presumed to be having different kinds of value and expertise which may raise relevant issues at time of evaluation. Following pointers may be kept in mind while identifying potential stakeholders:
- Do they have relevant knowledge as per defined initiative?
- Are they well respected in the sector for the same?
- Who has similar programs?
- Who has evaluated similar programs?
- Do they have diverse perspectives and experiences which can add value?
- Who are the beneficiaries or clients of the program?
- Who are the critics of the program?
- Who has needs or perspectives most different from you or those in your organization?
- Whose voices need to be heard?
- Which section is being under- represented or is missing?
- Who manages the program or initiative?
- Who are the sponsors of the initiative?
- Whom do people look for advicefor such initiatives?
- Who are the power brokers within this community or organization?
- Who are the policy-makers working on this issue?
- Who are advocates of this program or initiative?
- Who can bring creative ideas and energy for the future?
- Who can spread positive messages about the value of evaluation?
- Who can encourage others to support and participate in the evaluation?
- Who has relationships with potential skeptics or opponents of the evaluation?
By considering the above mentioned points we can classify the role of the stakeholders mentioned below as:
- Stakeholders utilize their expertise for raising questions grounded in extensive research and practice at the time of evaluating initiative
- Through their diverse perspectives and experiences, they can deliberate on ideas that reflect all sides of the issue
- Stakeholders take the responsibility for the program and use the evaluation findings formaking improvements
- They are presumed to influence other change agents
- Stakeholders are expected to help the program reach its goals hence they continuously strive for realizing future success
- They propound evaluation and build buy-in support for design and implementation
Stakeholders can be classified into various entities as discussed below:
2.4.1 Investors and Stockholders
Shareholders and investors are entities which have a stake in the organization in the form of investment on the lines of stocks, bonds, etc. In lieu of the investments, these entities demand returns hence it becomes very imperative to involve them in assessing impact of CSR because they are one of the reasons behind continuity of a business by virtue of being source of finance.