Thesis (M.M.) (Strategic marketing)). University of the Witwatersrand, Wits Business School, 2013. / Stakeholder theory has increasingly become an area of academic and management research. Every organisation has different stakeholders, upon which organisational outcomes are dependent on managerial decision making regarding the multiple relationships that exist, the various options and resources available to them, and the influence that corporate reputation has on the managers’ response to any given stakeholder claim. The purpose of this research is to offer a greater understanding of how executive managers of an emerging market company strategically identify and manage their stakeholders and consequently, the reputation of the firm. Various streams of literature were supported by the findings of the research conducted. This included the descriptive, instrumental, and normative aspects of managers’ behaviours and traits; stakeholder coalitions; and reciprocity. Areas of conflicting evidence stemming from the research included the classification of stakeholders through primary and secondary groups; stakeholder attributes of power and urgency; and “dangerous stakeholders” within stakeholder salience. There is a gap in the literature involving the effect of corporate reputation with regards to management salience and prioritising stakeholder demands. Sixteen semi-structured in-depth interviews were executed in a leading South African paint manufacturing company that forms part of a large global organisation. The respondents consisted of eight executive managers of the company, each from a different functional area, and eight stakeholders of the company comprising employees, suppliers, and customers. As a leading company within their industry, they frequently experience claims of various natures which the directors deal with on a regular basis, many of which have the potential to harm the corporate reputation. Real life cases are transcribed and reflected upon within this research report. The research findings show that the company’s corporate reputation has a direct influence on how managers prioritize and attend to stakeholder claims, mainly based on legitimacy as a core attribute. Furthermore, that managers identify their stakeholders differently to what the literature proposes, and that there are more learnings to be taken from reciprocity in stakeholder relationships.

The current global economic crisis, together with the general distrust and lack of confidence in business after a number of undeniable corporate scandals at board level (Hilb, 2006:3) has necessitated actions to assist business to become more transparent and to comply with corporate governance rules. Internationally, a number of actions were taken, such as the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the USA, the Cadbury Report in the UK and the King Report in South Africa, to mention a few. The King Report has become an internationally recognised brand as it advocated for an integrated approach to corporate governance, over and above the financial and regulatory aspects. Companies across the globe are encouraged and in some cases forced to give consideration to governance principles. In South Africa, the King Reports (King I, II and III), of which the King III Report on Governance is the latest, are no different. However, for the first time, the King III Report includes a chapter that focuses on managing stakeholder relationships as part of good corporate governance. As stakeholder relationship management (SRM) is central to the practice of communication management, Chapter 8 of the King III Report on Governance thus recognises the value that communication management can or should add in assisting businesses to comply with corporate governance rules. The problem is however that communication professionals do not always know how to implement the six principles outlined in Chapter 8 of the King III Report. Furthermore, the purpose of communication management, in particular strategic communication management, is not clear in the minds of companies’ senior management. This is often evident from the business paradigm where companies have little or no knowledge of stakeholder relationship management, and do not realise the value a well-developed communication management strategy can add in managing stakeholder relationships. It could therefore be surmised that companies and communication professionals do not know: <ul><li> To what extent the role, scope, function, structure and level of authority of communication management influence the management of stakeholder relationships and the implementation of a company’s business strategy. </li><li> What the implications of Chapter 8 of the King III Report on Governance are, with regard to the managing of stakeholder relationships for companies and their communication professionals. </li><li> What trends in communication management, affect stakeholder relationship management globally. </li><li> Which guidelines should be established for the implementation of stakeholder relationship management, according to the King III Report on Governance. </li><li> If companies would make use of a stakeholder relationship management positioning framework to position themselves in terms of their current compliance with good corporate governance rules. </li></ul> The main purpose of this research was to consider how communication professionals can assist their companies to manage stakeholder relationships according to the King III Report on Governance through obtaining a better understanding of the abovementioned questions. The study aimed to contribute to the body of knowledge and practice of communication management by: <ul><li> Theoretically and empirically determining whether a redefined business paradigm focussing on strategic communication management’s contribution to the effectiveness of the business through managing stakeholder relationship management is evident. </li><li> Considering the implications of the King III Report on Governance for companies and communication management. </li><li> Analysing the global communication management studies in an attempt to identify practices and trends that may inform the improved management of stakeholder relationships. </li><li> Empirically determining how senior communicators view stakeholder relationship management according to the King III Report on Governance in an attempt to propose guidelines for the implementation of stakeholder relationship management followed by a stakeholder relationship management positioning framework. </li></ul> Three phases guided the study, where the first phase consisted of a literature review, unpacking Chapter 8 of the King III Report on Governance and conducting an analysis of the global communication management studies in line with the Stockholm Accords. Phase II included qualitative empirical research into the views and practices of selected South African senior communicators. The last phase (Phase III) was a culmination of Phase I and Phase II, where nine (9) guidelines for the strategic management of stakeholder relationships were drafted, followed by a strategic stakeholder relationship management positioning framework against which businesses can benchmark themselves in terms of their level of compliance with corporate governance rules with the assistance of their communication management departments. The guidelines suggested in this study revolve around stakeholder relationship management being strategic and encompassing both stakeholder engagement and the governing of stakeholder relationships. Strategic stakeholder relationship management (SSRM) requires strategic integrated communication at the organisational, stakeholder and environmental levels of the organisation, and the utilisation of a strategic stakeholder relationship management and communication framework to identify, prioritise, communicate and build relationships with stakeholders. A carefully crafted communication strategy aligned with, and influencing business strategy, is needed and requires the CEO and top management to have knowledge and understanding of the considerations and challenges of stakeholders and how they can impact organisational reputation. Effective issues management and crisis communication approaches to assist in conflict resolution are necessary. The strategic, structured, disciplined and systematic management of communication throughout the organisation, as well as the communication management function/department is imperative. Strategic stakeholder relationship management is enhanced through the empowerment of the communication management function, assigning decision-making responsibility and accountability to the communication management function, and having a supportive organisational culture and structure. The proposed positioning framework affords a company the opportunity to outline where it is positioned with regard to strategic stakeholder relationship management, and it may assist a company to utilise its stakeholder relationship management strategy to gain a competitive advantage. The study added value to both companies and their communication professionals by aligning the six principles of Chapter 8 of the King III Report of Governance with the role, scope, function and authority of the communication management function. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Business Management / unrestricted

This study examined the relationship between workplace spirituality and employees’ perception of stakeholder relationships on a primary and secondary stakeholder level. The purpose of the research was to establish whether an employee with higher spiritual perspective, as manifested n the workplace, displays increased consideration for relationships with stakeholders. The quantitative research took the form of a cross sectional survey design to answer three research questions. The electronic survey was administered to a sample of post-graduate business students. A positive correlation was found between workplace spirituality and employees’ perception of secondary stakeholder relationships. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This qualitative, single case study research analyzes the stakeholder relationship cultivation strategies employed by LinkedIn China and its sub-brand Chitu. It also examines the extent to which the propositions of stakeholder theory and relationship management theory are applicable in a Chinese public relations context. Observations were made through analysis of documentation, interviews, direct observations and participant-observation. The results show that stakeholder theory and relationship management theory alone could not adequately explain the ways in which LinkedIn China and Chitu establish and maintain relationships with their stakeholders. This research discovered that additional theories are needed to explain LinkedIn China's success in relationship building. These theories include the Arthur W. Page Society's Building Belief Model and its Page principles; moreover, relationships between LinkedIn China and its stakeholders were forged and cultivated through CEO communication, personal influence, and issues management. The study also reviews how Guanxi, as an evolving cultural factor, affects LinkedIn China's decision-making and public relations strategies. Finally, this study offers practical insights for foreign organizations that need to nurture relationships with stakeholders in China.

The discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in the 1950s has brought with it both benefits and consequences, with the latter purported to have resulted in violence as well as the loss of lives and properties (Hummels, 1998; Eweje, 2007). This study examines the nature of the relationships existing between stakeholders in the industry and the understanding of the connections between these relationships and CSR in the industry. This resulted in the choice of Social Contract and Resource Dependence theories to be used in harmony as part of the theoretical base for this study, as a further expansion of Stakeholder theory. The Social Contract theory helps to bring out the place of agreement in the maintenance of these relationships between stakeholders, with the resources being crucial in the determination of the power balance. The study was a qualitative one that involved interviews and surveys amongst the different stakeholders that make up the industry (oil companies, host communities, NGOs, Experts). The data gathered was analysed using Thematic Discourse Analysis, with the aim of finding out how the words and phrases used by respondents gave an indication of their perceptions and actions in these relationships. This thesis results in the proposition of a Micro-System Perspective Model which asserts that different stakeholders start their relationships with each other with varying objectives that can only be achieved as outcomes, only if certain mechanisms are properly applied to these relationships. These mechanisms are resources, licences and agreements impact these relationships as reflected by the different features of these relationships. This model also emphasizes the separation of the government from the relationship between the oil companies and the host communities and as a result can carry out its roles in the industry without bias. Also, the relationships between stakeholders in the industry are deemed to be dynamic in nature, as influenced by the use of these mechanisms by the different stakeholders in their interaction with each other. The findings show that such dynamism is also caused by the management of these relationships through the CSR activities undertaken by the oil companies operating in the various parts of the region. As a result, CSR is viewed in the region as being a social obligation owed to the host communities by the oil companies. It is asserted that the definition and identification of stakeholders should not be based on their relationships with the firm (Freeman, 1984), but on their relationships with the industry and its resource which should be deemed the focal point. In line with this, the findings show that the salience of a stakeholder group is not just dependent upon their power, urgency and legitimacy alone as earlier purported by Mitchell et al (1997). On the contrary, these attributes together with the resources held by such stakeholders are crucial in deciding who controls these relationships between stakeholders. This study makes significant contributions to knowledge, especially in relation to the advancement of stakeholder debate and theory. It proposes that stakeholders should be identified not just based on their relationships with the firm but a consideration of their control of the resources deemed crucial by other stakeholders. Such a relationship with the industry and its resource is deemed crucial in determining stakeholder salience, thereby leading to the call for resources to be regarded as a stakeholder attribute in addition to urgency, power, legitimacy and proximity which is another contribution. The study also shows the different challenges and complexities of managing stakeholder relationships in the region that cause these relationships to be dynamic in nature. The proposal of a Micro System Perspective is another contribution as this has a direct implication for the Nigerian Oil industry and its impact on the different stakeholders involved in its operations.

In recent years the ideas of good governance and the responsibility of corporate South Africa to contribute to the society in which they operate have become an undeniable part of organisational conception. Indeed, South Africa is considered to be a leader in the field of corporate governance internationally. Forming part of governance practices is Corporate Social Investment (CSI) whereby corporate organisations contribute to causes and societal groupings in need of financial and other assistance. Among these societal groupings that receive support from CSI activities are non-profit organisations (NPOs) that rely on funding from their corporate donors for survival. Based on the exchange of funding and a shared attempt at social development, a relationship between the two parties emerges. From the perspective of the stakeholder theory, corporate organisations, through their CSI activities, and NPOs are stakeholders of each other and a positive relationship between them could strengthen their individual and collective goals. This study explored and described the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs in order to understand the state of the relationship and to critically consider the way in which the relationship is defined, described and measured. First, the relationship was explored by means of partially structured interviews based on well-known relationship indicators where it appeared that the relationship is not only fraught with negative perceptions from both sides, but also where the relationship indicators used to explore the relationship were not entirely suited for the specific context of this relationship. The negative perceptions and inappropriate relationship indicators formed the basis of a theoretical inquiry of literature on CSI, stakeholder relationships and participatory development communication. Subsequently, the partially structured interviews and the literature review informed the design of two corresponding survey questionnaires that could test both findings quantitatively. The results of validity and reliability testing confirmed the qualitative finding that a contextualised measurement is suited for this relationship. A mix of existing and newly formulated items grouped in contextual elements and redefined relationship indicators was used to describe the relationship. A combined analysis of qualitative and quantitative results indicated that the relationship is not as negative as the qualitative research might have suggested (possibly a result of contextualised measurement); but that very specific relational challenges are present and it is suggested that these challenges need a realistic approach of which accurate description is a starting point. The research contributes twofold with the first contribution being a clearer understanding of the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs and the second being a set of redefined and contextualised relationship indicators with which to define and measure this relationship. / PhD (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In recent years the ideas of good governance and the responsibility of corporate South Africa to contribute to the society in which they operate have become an undeniable part of organisational conception. Indeed, South Africa is considered to be a leader in the field of corporate governance internationally. Forming part of governance practices is Corporate Social Investment (CSI) whereby corporate organisations contribute to causes and societal groupings in need of financial and other assistance. Among these societal groupings that receive support from CSI activities are non-profit organisations (NPOs) that rely on funding from their corporate donors for survival. Based on the exchange of funding and a shared attempt at social development, a relationship between the two parties emerges. From the perspective of the stakeholder theory, corporate organisations, through their CSI activities, and NPOs are stakeholders of each other and a positive relationship between them could strengthen their individual and collective goals. This study explored and described the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs in order to understand the state of the relationship and to critically consider the way in which the relationship is defined, described and measured. First, the relationship was explored by means of partially structured interviews based on well-known relationship indicators where it appeared that the relationship is not only fraught with negative perceptions from both sides, but also where the relationship indicators used to explore the relationship were not entirely suited for the specific context of this relationship. The negative perceptions and inappropriate relationship indicators formed the basis of a theoretical inquiry of literature on CSI, stakeholder relationships and participatory development communication. Subsequently, the partially structured interviews and the literature review informed the design of two corresponding survey questionnaires that could test both findings quantitatively. The results of validity and reliability testing confirmed the qualitative finding that a contextualised measurement is suited for this relationship. A mix of existing and newly formulated items grouped in contextual elements and redefined relationship indicators was used to describe the relationship. A combined analysis of qualitative and quantitative results indicated that the relationship is not as negative as the qualitative research might have suggested (possibly a result of contextualised measurement); but that very specific relational challenges are present and it is suggested that these challenges need a realistic approach of which accurate description is a starting point. The research contributes twofold with the first contribution being a clearer understanding of the relationship between corporate donors and recipient NPOs and the second being a set of redefined and contextualised relationship indicators with which to define and measure this relationship. / PhD (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Il progetto di tesi si basa su uno studio di carattere qualitativo focalizzato a costruire un framework teorico relativo ai processi di comunicazione lungo la Supply Chain (SC), identificando come la stessa comunicazione sia in grado di supportare il complesso processo di Supply Chain Management (SCM) sia sul piano strategico, sia sul piano operativo. Il progetto di tesi si articola quindi in tre parti specifiche: 1. una review sistematica e critica della letteratura internazionale sui temi della Supply Chain e della comunicazione che fornisce un’analisi approfondita del dibattito internazionale sui processi relationship-based della SC, evidenziando inoltre il fondamentale ruolo della comunicazione nello scambio di flussi sociali, informativi e fisici tra i partner; 2. due studi esplorativi di tipo induttivo-deduttivo che costruiscono una mappatura concettuale preliminare dei ruoli e dei canali di comunicazione che supportano le fasi strategiche ed operative del SCM; 3. uno studio Grounded Theory (GT) progettato sulla base dei risultati emersi dai precedenti studi preliminari e basato su una ricerca empirica approfondita che ha coinvolto SC executives e managers di aziende italiane ed internazionali. / The Ph.D. research project is based on a wide qualitative study aimed at building a theoretical framework of the communication processes along the SC identifying how communication supports strategic and operational SCM and providing managerial insights on how to make an effective and efficient use of communication resources over time. The project emphasizes how relationships and processes are affected by communication flows, depicting the links among SC processes, communication and SC performance dimensions. More specifically, the project methodological design is articulated in three subsequent interrelated research phases: 1. a systematic and critical literature review on SC and communication providing a focused analysis of the international debate on SC relationship-based processes highlighting communication as an enabler of social, information and physical flows among SC partners; 2. a two-step exploratory inductive-deductive study aimed at building a preliminary conceptual mapping of communication roles and channels supporting strategic and operational SCM; a comprehensive Grounded Theory (GT) study designed according to emergent insights from both the preliminary inductive-deductive analysis carried out and an in depth empirical research investigating widespread SC communication representations, practices and aspirations.

Les objectifs principaux de cette thèse sont i) d’examiner comment la Responsabilité Sociale de l’Entreprise (RSE) affecte les relations avec les parties prenantes, ii) d’identifier les conditions aux limites dans lesquelles les actions de la RSE affecte les relations avec les parties prenantes de façon optimale, et iii) proposer les solutions pour améliorer la RSE dans les firmes. Afin d’atteindre ces objectifs, quatre études empiriques ont été effectuées dans l’Asie du Sud. Les données ont été collectées à travers une série de questionnaires envoyées aux managers d’haut niveau, employées et consommateurs. Les résultats démontrent un effet positif de la RSE sur les parties prenantes. La RSE n’est pas seulement importante pour les parties prenantes externes (consommateurs) mais aussi facilite le développement de bonnes relations entre la firme et ses parties prenantes internes (employées). Les conclusions de cette recherche soulignent le rôle important de la participation des employées dans le processus de prise de décision afin d’améliorer la RSE dans les firmes. En outre, la thèse souligne l’importance de la confiance des consommateurs envers l’entreprise ainsi que la satisfaction des consommateurs afin d’optimiser les conséquences de la RSE sur les relations avec les parties prenantes. / The main objectives of the dissertation are i) to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects stakeholder relationships, ii) to identify the boundary conditions in which CSR actions optimally affect stakeholder relationships, and iii) to prescribe ways to improve CSR in the firms. To achieve these objectives, four empirical studies were conducted in South Asia. Data were collected in a series of surveys with top managers, employees and consumers. The results show that CSR has a positive impact on stakeholders. CSR is not only important for external stakeholders (consumers) but also facilitates the building of good relationships between the firm and its internal stakeholders (employees). Findings emphasize the role of employee participation in decision making to improve CSR in the firms. In addition, the dissertation highlights the importance of consumer trust in the company as well as consumer satisfaction to optimize the affects of CSR on stakeholder relationships.