Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on July 31, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (M.B.A. (Investec Business School)) - Rhodes University, 2006. / A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master in Business Administration.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years, organisations in South Africa and around the world have started to realise that they have responsibilities towards the environment and communities they operate in, and that their responsibilities stretch further than just making profits for their shareholders. This growing awareness amongst organisations resulted in the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to escalate in importance and significance (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). The organisations‟ social responsibilities entail more than merely philanthropic activities in that the “social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary (voluntary) expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time” (Carroll & Shabana, 2010, p. 89). Apart from being a powerful and positive force for social change, organisations can also reap multi-faceted business returns from their CSR endeavours. Large organisations that have specific positions or departments that coordinates the various components of their CSR initiatives needs competent CSR leaders who can act as champions and drive CSR initiatives in their respective organisations. The purpose of this study was to identify the behaviours/competencies necessary to be an effective CSR leader and to develop a CSR leadership measurement instrument that could be used to assess CSR leadership competencies amongst CSR leaders of South African organisations. An ex post facto research design that included both qualitative and quantitative phases was used. A three-phase scale development process based on the work of Netemeyer, Bearden and Sharma (2003) was followed to develop the CSR leadership measurement instrument. Phase 1 (construct definition and domain specification) entailed a literature review, expert judging, as well as the identification of CSR leadership behaviours/competencies. The Leadership Behaviour Inventory (LBI-2) (Spangenberg & Theron, 2010; 2011) was identified to form the basis of the CSR-LQ. In-depth interviews with five CSR leaders were held and they judged the applicability of the 20 dimensions of the LBI-2 for CSR leadership. Additional CSR leader behaviours and competencies were identified through the use of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). Phase 2 (generation and judging of measurement items) included a process of item generation and expert judgement of measurement items. The revised LBI-2 items, together with new items were compiled in a questionnaire. A 5 point Likert-type scale (1=not at all important to 5=absolutely critical) was used to judge the importance of the CSR-LQ items. A further sample of CSR leaders (n=13) served as expert judges to indicate the applicability and relevancy of the CSR-LQ items. Purposive sampling together with snowball sampling was used to generate the sample. Phase 3 (finalisation of the measurement instrument) entailed finalising the CSR-LQ prior to empirical testing. The study resulted in the identification of CSR leadership competencies and the development of a CSR leadership measurement instrument. It is however too early to draw conclusions from this study, and it is hoped that future researchers will build on this study and develop a comprehensive CSR leadership competency model that could be used to identify and develop successful CSR leaders that will contribute to the CSR objectives of their respective organisations and add to the future development of the country. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisasies regoor die wêreld, asook in Suid-Afrika, het in die afgelope jare begin besef dat hulle verantwoordelikhede het teenoor die omgewing en gemeenskappe waarin hulle werksaam is en dat hul verantwoordelikhede verder strek as om bloot wins vir hul belanghebbendes te maak. Hierdie toenemende bewustheid onder organisasies het tot gevolg gehad dat die konsep van korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid (KSV) in belangrikheid en betekenis toegeneem het (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). Organisasies se sosiale verantwoordelikheid behels meer as bloot filantropiese aktiwiteite deurdat dit ekonomiese, wetlike, etiese, en diskresionêre (willekeurige) verwagtinge wat die gemeenskap van organisasies het op 'n gegewe tydstip insluit (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). Buiten vir die feit dat KSV 'n kragtige en positiewe mag vir sosiale verandering is, kan organisasies ook veelvuldige besigheidsvoordele uit hul KSV-pogings trek. Groot organisasies, wat spesifieke posisies of departemente het om die verskeie komponente van hul KSV-inisiatiewe te koördineer, benodig bevoegde KSV-leiers wat as kampvegters kan optree en die KSV-inisiatiewe in hul onderskeie organisasies kan dryf. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die nodige gedrag/bevoegdhede van 'n effektiewe KSV-leier te identifiseer en om 'n KSV-leierskap-meetinstrument te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word om KSV-leierskapbevoegdhede onder KSV-leiers van Suid-Afrikaanse organisasies te meet. 'n Ex post facto navorsingsontwerp wat beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe fases ingesluit het, is gebruik. 'n Skaalontwikkelingsproses, gebaseer op die werk van Netemeyer, Bearden and Sharma (2003) en bestaande uit drie fases, is gevolg om die KSV-leierskap-meetinstrument te ontwikkel. Fase 1 (konstrukomskrywing en domeinspesifikasie) het 'n literatuurstudie, kennersoordeel, asook die identifikasie van KSV-leierskapsgedrag/-bevoegdhede bevat. Die Leierskapsgedrag-inventaris (LBI-2) (Spangenberg & Theron, 2010; 2011) is geïdentifiseer om die basis te vorm van die korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheidsleierskap-vraelys (CSR-LQ). In-diepte onderhoude is met vyf KSV-leiers gevoer en hulle het die toepaslikheid van die 20 dimensies van die LBI-2 ten opsigte van KSV-leierskap beoordeel. Bykomende KSV-leierskapsgedrag en -bevoegdhede is geïdentifiseer deur gebruik te maak van die Kritiese Insident-tegniek (KIT). Fase 2 (skep en oordeel van metingsitems) het 'n proses van itemskepping en kennersoordeel van metingsitems ingesluit. Die hersiene LBI-2-items, tesame met nuwe items, is in 'n vraelys saamgevat. 'n Vyf-punt Likert-tipe skaal (1=glad nie belangrik nie tot 5=absoluut noodsaaklik) is gebruik om die belangrikheid van die CSR-LQ-items te bepaal. 'n Verdere steekproef van KSV-leiers (n=13) het as kenners/beoordelaars gedien om die toepaslikheid en relevansie van die CSR-LQ-items aan te dui. Doelgerigte steekproefneming deur middel van sneeubal-steekproefneming is gedoen om die monster te genereer. Fase 3 (finalisering van die meetinstrument) het die finalisering van die CSR-LQ – voor empiriese toetsing – behels. Die studie het gelei tot die identifisering van KSV-leierskapbevoegdhede en die ontwikkeling van 'n KSV-leierskap-meetinstrument. Dit is egter te vroeg om gevolgtrekkings uit hierdie studie te maak, en daar word gehoop dat toekomstige navorsers op hierdie studie sal voortbou. Sodoende kan 'n omvattende KSV-leierskapbevoegdheidsmodel ontwikkel word wat gebruik kan word om suksesvolle KSV-leiers te identifiseer en te ontwikkel. Hierdie suksesvolle KSV-leiers sal tot die KSV-doelwitte van hul onderskeie organisasies kan bydra en waarde kan toevoeg tot die toekomstige ontwikkeling van die land.

This thesis explores the research gap on the influence of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in businesses of German graphic design industry (GDI). It focuses on owner managers’ within the Creative Industries by understanding the use of sustainability and expresses what sustainability means for GDI owner managers’. Sustainability is and will be a relevant and unperfected accessed area of research, precisely because the rearrangement of resource saving and sustainable economic management is believed to be one of the major challenges of the 21st-century. Also the group of well the people with a Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainability continues to increase. Sustainability is a mega trend! It is well documented that sustainability management is especially relevant for big firms and is able to assure companies success for the long-term. This research seeks to explore this for small and medium sized companies. Which options do the mainly small organised German graphic design industry (GDI) have? How does that fit to the creative industry (CI) as a major economic force? The German GDI is rumoured to be very innovative – multiplied effective ideas are a basis for successful sustainability management. GDIs should be at the forefront of sustainability management because they have a wide reach and connections to other industries and are with its creativity services in graphic and communication design important for the growth of the whole German economy. The primary question is: Is the use of sustainability in German GDI a contribution to long-term success? This leads to the title of the thesis “An examination of owner managers’ perception of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in the German graphic design industry.” The key research question is: Is the use of sustainability in German GDI a contribution to long-term success? The research methodology is based on a number of expert interviews conducted Metje Rocklage II with German graphic design industry owner managers’ implementing sustainability in their daily business. Preparing these semi-structured guideline interviews two pre talks were adapted. Together with reflective presentation of the author in front of an audience of graphic design and sustainability experts, the author developed a constructivist prejudice as a foundation for an Applied Thematic Analysis. The core results of this research are: Sustainability for graphic design industry owner managers’ means a strong inner motivated world improvement with another way of thinking and acting of how to ecologically (with priority), social and (not for all) economically produces good and sustainable results, which means durable and valuable products. The use of sustainability within German graphic design owner managers’ is based on internal motivation and personal core values. Ecologic activities occur more often than economic and social activities. Implementing sustainability to future business requires a creative, alternative, complex, and long-term thought process with consideration to consequences. Sustainability is often seen as a contribution to long-term success (with happiness and satisfaction). Sustainability positive influences the inner motivation, the networking and cooperation, is an added value, provides a unique selling proposition, and is seen as an image-forming factor. The surprising outcome of this research is the high personal inner motivation of the topic sustainability within German graphic design industry. The owner managers’ personal core values are of primary importance; with it the use of sustainability is seen as a contribution to long-term success with happiness and satisfaction. For long-term success, it seems to be optimal for the entrepreneur to act in a sustainable manner on the basis of inner motivation and intrinsic interest. That leads to the assumption, that the integration of sustainability in businesses of German graphic design owner managers’ is established on the basis of inner motivation and personal core values. German graphic designers that implement sustainability are headed in the right direction to be fit for the future, by thinking creative, complex and for the longterm. Further additional research is needed about inner motivation and sustainability as a contribution to small and medium-sized success.

The current research of slack-performance relationship pays attention mainly to a set of overlapping slack natures, such as being sticky or liquid, without sufficient consideration of variables related to the internal structure of a given organization. I posit that this weakness may prevent us from further understanding how different slack resources (the slacks) influence firm performance. Moreover, the research on slack-performance relationship has pay insufficient attention to firm's performance in terms of corporate social responsibilities or CSR. Combining the transaction cost theory of the firm with a perspective of international strategy (Taylor, Beechler, & Napier, 1996), I propose a new model explaining how organizational-structure-related variables may interact with the slacks and influence firms' corporate social responsibility. In the study, I propose that with the international strategy, the positive relationship between liquid slack of a given MNE and its corporate social performance will become stronger. Meanwhile, with the international strategy, the negative relationship between the sticky slack of a given MNE and its corporate social performance will become weaker. After analyzing data from publicly listed US firms (2000-2012), I obtain evidence supporting the importance of organizational integration structure for understanding slack-performance relationship. The results show that the international strategy has negative effects to moderate the relationship between the slacks and corporate social responsibilities. Keywords: Sticky slack, Liquid slack, Corporate social performance, Corporate social irresponsible, International strategy

The existing literature on ethical consumption is primarily developed from a Western perspective; those from other parts of the world remain under-represented. This study offers an authentic Chinese perspective of ethical consumption: revealing Chinese consumers’ responses to the Western notion of ethical consumption and describing their interpretations of ethical consumption in a Chinese context. A phenomenological approach was adopted to explore this Chinese perceptive through consumers’ lived life stories and experiences. Four focus groups and fourteen interviews were conducted to ‘make text’, thematic analysis, guided by a hermeneutic approach to interpretation, was then used to produce rich meanings. This study’s findings highlight the significance of traditional Chinese cultural virtues, and in particular, those attached to reconstructionist Confucianism. The outcomes illustrate that these traditional Chinese virtues are still deeply embedded in Chinese consumers, speaking through them and influencing their construction of the meanings of ethical consumption. Virtues such as harmony, thrift, being humble, trustworthiness, humanness and righteousness, loving one’s family and extending this love to others, are particularly relevant. This Chinese perspective of ethical consumption, therefore, can be viewed as ‘a bundle of virtues’. This bundle does not operate in a fixed order, but rather the elements interact with the external environment and thus the virtues used are influenced by specific situations to provide the basis for ‘ethical consumption’ in context. The study findings also indicate the usefulness of virtue ethics in the field of ethical consumption. This leads to the suggestion that future research adopt a virtue ethics lens, rather than falling back on either a principles-based (deontological) or outcomes-based (consequential) perspective. Thus, even though this study considers a Chinese perspective, it offers a response to the Western notion of ethical consumption that underscores the importance of context, environment and situation. This leads to a position where research need to address, appreciate and incorporate the collaboration of governments, organizations and individual consumers in achieving a ‘true’ sense of ethical consumption.

This study sets out to answer the question whether compliance with the directors’ fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the company undermines other stakeholders’ interests and corporate sustainability. It adopts a comparative approach whereby the South African legal system is compared to that of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America where corporate scandals in the last two decades resulted in the collapse of some large companies. Qualitative research methods namely the critical and evaluation, comparative and legal historical approaches are employed. The adoption of the comparative and historical approach to this study makes it significant for company law literature. The study is hinged on two company law principles. The first one is that a company is a juristic and fictitious person. The second one is the separation of ownership and control of a company. To effectively understand how the directors’ fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the company has evolved over time, a historical overview of fiduciary obligations is presented. Four different views about the origins of fiduciary obligations are examined. It is submitted that the old English case of Keech v Sandford1 and the South Sea Company Bubble are very significant to the development of fiduciary obligations and their assimilation into company law. Thereafter, a discussion on the nature and scope of the directors’ duty in question is presented. An analysis of the relationship between directors and the company and how rights and duties between the two legal subjects arise is also undertaken. It will be shown that the directors’ fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the company is broken down into a number of mandatory rules. After outlining some selected company stakeholders, an argument is presented on who the legitimate beneficiaries of directors’ fiduciary obligations should be. Further, the study provides an explanation of the concept of ‘the best interests of a company’ before addressing the tension between the pursuit of sustainability and the best interests of the company. An important question in the context of this study is how can directors’ fiduciary obligations be enforced? Identifying that there is public and private enforcement of fiduciary obligations, this study focusses on private enforcement which mainly consists of judicial and administrative remedies. Judicial remedies especially the derivative action and oppression remedies will be examined. A greater part of the discussion will dwell heavily on whether the available remedies are relevant and/or effective in protecting various stakeholders’ interests. Due to the nature of the office of director, it can be contended that directors should not be held liable for every decision they make. As such, American courts have come up with what has come to be known as the business judgment rule. This rule protects directors from civil liability if they act in good faith, with due care, without any personal interest and within the director’s authority. It will be shown that the rule manifests or operates either as an abstention doctrine, as a standard of liability or as an immunity doctrine. As an abstention or standard of liability doctrine, the rule requires the plaintiff to rebut a presumption that directors acted in good faith in the best interests of the company. As an immunity doctrine, the rule requires the director to prove that s/he qualifies for the immunity.