scholarly journals Narrative Styles and Institutional Isomorphism in South African CEOs’ Shareholder Letters

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Elda Du Toit ◽  
Leana Esterhuyse
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Institutional Isomorphism ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
The South ◽  
Executive Officers ◽  
International Companies

Among the most-read corporate documents are chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) shareholder letters. Using institutional isomorphism as lens, this study examines the extent to which the narrative styles used by South African CEOs in their shareholder letters are similar to the styles used by CEOs at leading international companies. The study also explores the degree to which impression management techniques are present in the South African CEOs’ shareholder letters. The study uses DICTION software to conduct a narrative analysis of South African CEOs’ shareholder letters for a single financial year, and compares the findings with those drawn from the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of the shareholder letters of CEOs from samples of international Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. The study finds that optimism and realism are the two most-used narrative styles in South African CEOs’ shareholder letters, and that these findings are markedly similar to those generated by the Craig and Amernic (2018) study of international companies. The study contributes to the understanding of normative institutional isomorphism in corporate reporting by providing empirical evidence that the narrative styles employed by CEOs of companies in a developing economy with high corporate governance standards conform to the same norms as those of CEOs of large international companies. The study also finds that the South African CEOs’ dominant communication styles in the shareholder letters lend themselves to being tools of impression management.

The Impact of IT Investment in South African E-Commerce SME Organizations

2008 ◽  
pp. 3119-3128
Author(s):  
Sam Lubbe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
It Investment ◽  
It Department ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Executive Officers ◽  
The Impact

This chapter considers the possibility of a link between organisational performance and information technology (IT) investment intensity in SME organisations practising e-commerce for the period 2001/2002. The answers to the research questions note that in top performing organisations; (1) IT costs as proportions of operating costs were higher; (2) IT costs as a proportion of turnover was lower, than in weak performing organisations; and (3) that a positive correlation exists between the computerisation index (CI) and the operating costs ratio. The investigation also reveals that chief executive officers (CEO)’s expect additional output while planning e-commerce operations and keeping IT budgets constant. Evidence is presented that company performance is linked to the level of IT investment intensity in the sample of organisations investigated, even though more output was expected from the IT department.

The Impact of IT Investment in South African E-Commerce SME Organizations

2011 ◽  
pp. 94-106
Author(s):  
Sam Lubbe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
It Investment ◽  
It Department ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Executive Officers ◽  
The Impact

This chapter considers the possibility of a link between organisational performance and information technology (IT) investment intensity in SME organisations practising e-commerce for the period 2001/2002. The answers to the research questions note that in top performing organisations; (1) IT costs as proportions of operating costs were higher; (2) IT costs as a proportion of turnover was lower, than in weak performing organisations; and (3) that a positive correlation exists between the computerisation index (CI) and the operating costs ratio. The investigation also reveals that chief executive officers (CEO)’s expect additional output while planning e-commerce operations and keeping IT budgets constant. Evidence is presented that company performance is linked to the level of IT investment intensity in the sample of organisations investigated, even though more output was expected from the IT department.

scholarly journals Impression management and ancient Ceylonese rulers

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Sriyalatha Kumarasinghe ◽  
Grant Samkin
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Corporate Communications ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Executive Officers

This study investigated how the Ceylonese kings, who ruled the South Asian island nation until the start of colonial occupation in the late sixteenth century, used stone inscriptions as impression management techniques to present a favourable impression of themselves to their subjects. The sample comprises 383 stone inscriptions. The findings of this article suggest that the impression management strategies used by Ceylonese kings to communicate with their subjects are consistent with those used by more modern charismatic leaders. However, the way strategies were implemented differed. This study contributes to the literature on the motivations and impression management techniques used by charismatic leaders and it adds to the limited knowledge on ancient Sri Lanka. Examining how charismatic leaders in the form of Ceylonese kings used inscriptions may provide insights into how modern-day chief executive officers or partners of major accounting practices use narrative components of annual reports and other forms of corporate communications to portray their leadership.

scholarly journals The relationship between CEO compensation and company performance in a South African context

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Bradley
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Chief Executive Officer ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
Performance Variables ◽  
African Context ◽  
Executive Officers

The goal of this research was to determine, in a South African context, whether there is any correlation between chief executive officer compensation and the performance of the company. For the purposes of the research, the compensation of chief executive officers was broken down into three components: salary, bonus and ‘other’ remuneration, while company performance was measured on return on equity, return on assets and earnings per share figures. Data in respect of the forty largest listed companies in South Africa were collected over a period of five years. The results of this study indicate that there is no linear relationship between chief executive officer compensation and company performance variables. The econometric models did, however, show correlations between certain variables, taking into account the other predictor variables in the model. Evidence of correlations between age, experience and compensation was also found.

scholarly journals The measurement of employee engagement in government institutions

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-25
Author(s):  
Nico Martins ◽  
Ophillia Ledimo
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Research Company ◽  
Management Experience ◽  
Executive Officers

Employee engagement has consistently been rated as one of the top issues on chief executive officers’ lists of priorities and is a main focus of attention of both academics and human resources practitioners. A number of studies focus on employee engagement in the private sector, however there are relatively fewer studies that focus on employee engagement in government institutions. The aim of this study was twofold: Firstly, the validity and reliability of the employee engagement instrument for government institutions were determined. Secondly, it was determined if any significant differences could be detected between the employee engagement levels of the various biographical groups that participated in the survey. A quantitative research study was conducted using a database of a research company. The database in question is made up of 285 000 business people from various industries and sizes of business and who occupy different roles, reflecting the profile of the South African working population. A total of 4 099 employees, of which 427 represented government institutions, completed the employee engagement questionnaire. The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the questionnaire for government institutions, but with a slightly different structure. Some biographical groupings indicated that they experience employee engagement in a significantly different way. The results indicate that the younger employees together with top and senior management experience the highest levels of engagement in government institutions. The significance of these results is that not all biographical groups’ engagement levels can be managed equally.

Effect of leadership styles on organizational commitment and performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises in Iraqi Kurdistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Karwan Hamasalih Qadir ◽  
Mehmet Yeşiltaş
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Iraqi Kurdistan ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Executive Officers

Since 2003 the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has increased exponentially in Iraqi Kurdistan. To facilitate further growth the owners and chief executive officers of these enterprises have sought to improve their leadership skills. This study examined the effect of transactional and transformational leadership styles on organizational commitment and performance in Iraqi Kurdistan SMEs, and the mediating effect of organizational commitment in these relationships. We distributed 530 questionnaires and collected 400 valid responses (75% response rate) from 115 SME owners/chief executive officers and 285 employees. The results demonstrate there were positive effects of both types of leadership style on organizational performance. Further, the significant mediating effect of organizational commitment in both relationships shows the importance of this variable for leader effectiveness among entrepreneurs in Iraqi Kurdistan, and foreign entrepreneurs engaging in new businesses in the region.

scholarly journals Toward a Working Model of Leadership in Nonprofit Sport Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian O’Boyle ◽  
David Shilbury ◽  
Lesley Ferkins
Keyword(s):  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Working Model ◽  
Executive Officers ◽  
Scholarly Discourse

The aim of this study is to explore leadership within nonprofit sport governance. As an outcome, the authors present a preliminary working model of leadership in nonprofit sport governance based on existing literature and our new empirical evidence. Leadership in nonprofit sport governance has received limited attention to date in scholarly discourse. The authors adopt a case study approach involving three organizations and 16 participant interviews from board members and Chief Executive Officers within the golf network in Australia to uncover key leadership issues in this domain. Interviews were analyzed using an interpretive process, and a thematic structure relating to leadership in the nonprofit sport governance context was developed. Leadership ambiguity, distribution of leadership, leadership skills and development, and leadership and volunteerism emerged as the key themes in the research. These themes, combined with existing literature, are integrated into a preliminary working model of leadership in nonprofit sport governance that helps to shape the issues and challenges embedded within this emerging area of inquiry. The authors offer a number of suggestions for future research to refine, test, critique, and elaborate on our proposed working model.

In retrospect: The influence of chief executive officers’ historical relative pay on overconfidence

2021 ◽  
pp. 147612702110048
Author(s):  
J Daniel Zyung ◽  
Wei Shi
Keyword(s):  
Chief Executive Officers ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Executive Officers ◽  
Leadership Research ◽  
The Relationship

This study proposes that chief executive officers who have received over their tenure a greater sum of total compensation relative to the market’s going rate become overconfident. We posit that this happens because historically overpaid chief executive officers perceive greater self-worth to the firm whereby such self-serving attribution inflates their level of self-confidence. We also identify chief executive officer- and firm-level cues that can influence the relationship between chief executive officers’ historical relative pay and their overconfidence, suggesting that chief executive officers’ perceived self-worth is more pronounced when chief executive officers possess less power and when their firm’s performance has improved upon their historical aspirations. Using a sample of 1185 firms and their chief executive officers during the years 2000–2016, we find empirical support for our predictions. Findings from this study contribute to strategic leadership research by highlighting the important role of executives’ compensation in creating overconfidence.

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