Dubai, UAE | 5 May 2026
This morning, as I was reading the news, one story stayed with me. ADNOC announced its Industrial Resilience Programme. This announcement follows its new initiative, which I read about on Sunday: “Make it with ADNOC”, which gives manufacturers and investors clearer visibility on future demand so they can plan earlier and with greater certainty (The National, 2026). What caught my attention was not the announcement itself, but what it sets in motion.
Stakeholder agency becomes visible when others begin to act, when one organisation’s direction moves beyond itself and starts to shape how others respond. Organisations operate within a network of actors who interpret, respond to, and act on what they see (Freeman, 1984). Over time, these responses connect, and that is where influence takes form. This is exactly what ADNOC is driving here.
As I continue exploring stakeholderism this month, my focus today is on the following questions: when does participation begin to shape how others act, and when does that shaping become material, and how does it translate beyond borders?
When participation becomes agency
ADNOC as a shaper is not new. It has been building that role over time, and COP28 made it visible. Back in 2023, under the leadership of Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 brought energy producers into the centre of the climate conversation. The shift was practical. Instead of being positioned outside the transition, the industry became part of how the transition would be discussed and carried out. The conversation moved from ambition to execution.
From a stakeholder agency perspective, this reflects a broader dynamic. Industries are shaped by how actors respond to one another over time (Neil Fligstein & Doug McAdam, 2012). When a leading organisation sets a clear direction, others adjust and change the narrative. From observer or receiving participant, the oil industry became not only an active participant but also a driving engine behind climate change talks in a material way, through investment and call for financing.
These past few days, ADNOC displayed stakeholder agency again through its Industrial Resilience Programme and “Make it with ADNOC” that not only address supply chains. They clarify direction, reduce uncertainty, and enable earlier action.
When agency becomes material
Perhaps what I learned from these two separate events is that capital does not wait for certainty. It moves when direction is credible. ADNOC’s plan to fast-track around $55 billion in project awards between 2026 and 2028 reinforces that direction at scale (Bloomberg, 2026). Investment accelerates, capacity is built, and financing aligns with expected demand. Each decision is commercial. Together, they begin to shift how resources are allocated. Over time, that reallocation shapes the field.
This is where stakeholder agency becomes tangible. Not in statements, but in how capital, resources, and decisions begin to move between actors. Each move is independent, yet together they align. That alignment is what turns participation into shaping.
These impact the company’s own business decisions but also has an effect which extends far beyond the organisation itself. Here stakeholder agency helps shape how energy continues to move. They reduce uncertainty for buyers, stabilise expectations for markets, and allow governments and industry to plan under constraint.
Where agency is tested
In response to the Strait of Hormuz situation, ADNOC, as reported by Reuters, has worked with clients to provide flexibility in crude loading and mitigate risks linked to disruptions, including offering alternative loading options and relying on infrastructure that allows exports to bypass the Strait when needed.
Here, decisions do not remain internal. They are taken up, interpreted, and acted on by others. This is where stakeholder agency becomes visible under pressure. Buyers adjust sourcing strategies. Markets recalibrate risk. Governments align around continuity.
This is also where the academic lens helps clarify what is happening. As Neil Fligstein and Doug McAdam describe, industries operate as fields shaped by the interaction of actors, particularly under conditions of uncertainty (2012). When pressure increases, those fields do not pause. They reorganise, and this is from my view what ADNOC has done and continues to do incredibly well. It did not just reorganise itself, it did so with a view to helping its industry move forward.
Conclusion
A company decision supports national resilience. National resilience contributes to global energy stability. And global stability feeds back into how markets and institutions behave. Each layer reinforces the other.
What appears as an operational adjustment becomes something else when seen in context. It becomes part of how the system absorbs pressure, reorganises, and continues to function. And it is at that point that participation begins to shape.
What becomes visible is a pattern. Direction is set, others respond, capital moves, and systems begin to align. One interesting perspective is that stakeholder agency in practice is about creating conditions that others can act on.
When those conditions are clear and consistent, participation begins to change. A great example of stakeholder agency for corporations is about shaping how others will move with them.
References
Bloomberg. (2026). ADNOC to speed growth with $55 billion project awards.
European Commission. (2021). Industry 5.0: Towards a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach.
Fligstein, N., & McAdam, D. (2012). A theory of fields.
Reuters. (2026). Energy flows and risks around the Strait of Hormuz.
The National. (2026). ADNOC launches Industrial Resilience Programme to support supply chains.