While most studies take a dyadic view when examining the environmental difference between the home country of a multinational enterprise (MNE) and a particular foreign country, they ignore that an MNE is managing a network of subsidiaries embedded in diverse environments. Additionally, neither the impacts of global environments on top executives nor the effects of top executives’ capabilities to handle institutional complexity are fully explored. Thus, using a three-essay format, this dissertation tried to fill these gaps by addressing the effects of institutional complexity and top management characteristics on top executive compensation and firm performance. Essay 1 investigated the impact of an MNE’s institutional complexity, or the diversity of national institutions facing an MNE’s network of subsidiaries, on the top management team (TMT) compensation. This essay proposed that greater political and cultural complexity leads to not only greater TMT total compensation but also to a greater portion of TMT compensation linked with long-term performance. The arguments are supported in this essay by using an unbalanced panel dataset including 296 U.S. firms with 1,340 observations. Essay 2 explored TMT social capital and its moderating role on value creation and appropriation by the chief executive officer (CEO). Using a sample with 548 U.S. firms and 2,010 observations, it found that greater TMT social capital does facilitate the effects of CEO intellectual capital and social capital on firm growth. Finally, essay 3 examined the performance implications for the fit between managerial information-processing capabilities and institutional complexity. It proposed that institutional complexity is associated with the needs of information-processing. On the other hand, smaller TMT turnover and larger TMT size reflect larger managerial information-processing capabilities. Consequently, superior performance is achieved by the match among institutional complexity, TMT turnover, and TMT size. All hypotheses in essay 3 are supported in a sample of 301 U.S. firms and 1,404 observations. To conclude, this dissertation advances and extends our knowledge on the roles of institutional environments and top executives on firm performance and top executive compensation.

The thesis analyses the course and tempo of women´s careers in comparison with those of men, based on an analysis of my own research conducted at the company EY. The results of the research demonstrates, whether it is more challenging for women or men to achieve a managerial position. The thesis identifies and analyse the different factors that may influence the career of women, based on the theoretical findings and on a qualitative interview.

Background: Today´s world is characterized by a high level of digitalization that contributes to the development of new and effective technologies. However, this digital success requires knowledge and awareness about cybersecurity. Previous studies have shown that during 2020 the number of cyber-attacks among Swedish companies have increased. Due to digitalization, external parties find new methods to enter a company's systems and take advantage of its innovations and valuable information. That can affect the company's value negatively by ruining its reputation and making the stakeholders mistrust it. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to contribute to an increased understanding of strategic leadership´s influence on cyber risk awareness. Methodology: This study follows a qualitative research method. The data have been conducted through semi-structured interviews, based on 11 respondents consisting of experts whose professional background is anchored in cybersecurity. The research process follows an abductive approach. Conclusion: This study concludes that the current state of cyber risk awareness is not sufficient although it is increasing. Risk awareness is dependent on knowledge and organizational culture. This study concludes that the top management has a significant role in the influence of organizational culture and knowledge and thereby the risk awareness of a company, which in turn has an impact ontheir cybersecurity. It is the responsibility of the top management to delegate tasks that enhance riskawareness. Therefore, cyber risk awareness is to be treated as a top management issue. As a contribution, the study provides an insight on how humans, in this case, the top managementinfluences a company's cybersecurity through risk awareness.

This dissertation explores (i) the determinants of executive selection in the international labor market, (ii) how these determinants shift relative to economic and institutional conditions, and (iii) how they differ for various functional roles. Using regression-based analysis and competitive assignment matching models, I examined executive appointment patterns in the subsidiaries of global banks located in Central & Eastern Europe between 2005 and 2012. The setting and timeframe not only yielded a heterogeneous sample of executive appointments under a variety of environmental conditions but also provided the opportunity to study the impact of financial shocks in the environment and/or the subsidiary network on executive succession during and in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis of 2008. The results indicate that there exists a substantial difference in appointment strategies by functional role, which remains intact regardless of the level of environmental uncertainty present in the subsidiary market. In examining the entire subsidiary executive team, the results of the two-sided competitive assignment matching model show that firm-specific human capital is the dominant determinant of an executive appointment during an economic upswing, but during an economic downturn firm-specific human capital is nearly four times weaker in driving an executive—subsidiary match than general human capital. Upon limiting the sample to just subsidiary CEOs, I find that while broad economic shocks and subsidiary-specific performance shocks both incite CEO turnover, they prompt different preferences for successors' human capital attributes. Specifically, country-wide economic crisis promotes a preference for local human capital, while performance shocks limited to the subsidiary are associated with a preference for expatriate human capital and for successors with broad international experience.

Chief executives (CEOs) and other senior managers do not seem to be satisfied with the performance of their corporate communication managers/practitioners. Perceptions are that practitioners fail to assume broad decision making roles in organisations. They seem to be unable to see the big picture or understand the key issues in their industry-their thinking is tactical, rather than strategic. Practitioners are focused on their own activities and media, on the achievement of communication goals and objectives--without necessarily linking them to business goals. There appears to be a lack of understanding between top management and the corporate communication function on the latter's role in the strategic management process. This situation might be the result of a lack of strategic management and strategic communication knowledge and skills amongst corporate communication managers, possibly caused by insufficient training in these areas (Groenewald 1998a). The research objectives addressed by this study are the following: Firstly, to conceptualise a strategic role for the corporate communication practitioner at the top management level of the organisation (the role of the PR strategist). This is done by investigating the strategic management literature to determine whether a need exists at the top management level to play a strategic role. The behavioural activities of such a role were identified both from the public relations and the strategic management literature. Secondly, to conceptualise corporate communication strategy as an activity of a corporate communication practitioner in the role of the· PR manager, a strategic role at the functional or meso level of the organisation. Furthermore, to differentiate a corporate communication strategy from a communication plan. Thirdly, to hypothesise a model for developing corporate communication strategyand thereafter to implement, evaluate and improve the model by assessing and comparing the corporate communication strategy projects of third year corporate communication students at the University of Pretoria, as partners in the action research process. The research approach selected is qualitative research-an exploratory design is employed in achieving the first three objectives by means of a literature investigation. A confirmatory design is used for the implementation, evaluation and improvement of the model through the methodology of action research. In implementing, evaluating and revising the hypothesised model, this study moves away from the traditional teacher-centred approach in the classroom to a situation where students are involved in a research inquiry to build theory. At the same time, the participant community (non-profit organisations in this case) is exposed to strategic communication knowledge. They are involved in a process whereby they become active participants (together with the students and the lecturer/researcher) in developing corporate communication strategy for their organisations. The results are twofold': firstly, staff members of the non-profit organisation (as well as the students) acquire strategic communication skills; and secondly, the researcher investigates a new area of interest, builds theory, and facilitates a learning process for students whereby they obtain experience and knowledge that is applicable to practice. In conceptualising both a new role for the corporate communication practitioner at the top management level (the role of the PR strategist), and proposing corporate communication strategy as the link between the communication plan and the corporate strategy, an attempt is made to provide possible solutions to important problems in practice. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Communication Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Background & problem:  In a fast-moving environment where organizations are forced to meet changing stakeholder needs, the importance of understanding top management teams (TMT) becomes more prominent given their influential position. Further on, with a growing population, the demand in the real estate industry is deemed to have a continuous growth. For this reason, the urge to implement a sustainability strategy has become fundamentally important to stay competitive. Hence, corporate sustainability communication has purposely been served as a tool to provide misleading information, commonly referred as greenwashing.   Purpose: Building on that, by studying the attitude of TMT regarding the integration of corporate sustainability strategies, it is possible to explore how TMTs are being influenced by stakeholders in their strategic decisions. Furthermore, it is possible to identify characteristics that affect potential drivers of greenwashing.    Method: To serve the purpose of this study, data were collected through a quantitative online survey targeting TMT members of Swedish real estate companies. The framework created for this study is based on an extensive literature review and contains constructs based on observable characteristics drawn on the illuminations from upper echelon theory (UET) (Hambrick & Mason, 1984). To adequately analyse relationships between the different variables, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis as well as multiple linear regression analysis were conducted.    Conclusion: The results show that the business career construct based on the UET items: financial position, different functional track, career experience and education, has a positive correlation with TMTs perceived gain of positive publicity by stakeholders if implementing a sustainability strategy. Moreover, this study adds knowledge of the underlaying characteristics of managers’ attitude towards corporate sustainability and provide support that business career characteristics follow a stakeholder-orientated logic of implementing a sustainability strategy.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and compare how women and men in a CEO position have experienced the recruitment process for the function as CEO. The study aims to identify similarities and differences between women and men's experience of contributing factors to the fact that they were recruited to the position of CEO. The study also intends to create an understanding of what opportunities and obstacles women and men have experienced that have affected their path to the CEO position. The study is comparative and the empirical material consists of ten semi- structured interviews with five women and five men who have been recruited to the position of CEO. The study shows that the most central factors in being recruited to the CEO position is to be a part of a network, have access to social capital and have "good success stories". This is described by both our female and male respondents. However, no typical process can be identified. The recruitment process is perceived as “solid” and “waterproof” by the majority of respondents. The study shows that four out of five women have been recruited internally, thus, they have been included in networks internally. Among our male respondents, four out of five have been recruited externally, indicating that they have been included in networks outside the organization. We found that women have experienced that they have been given opportunities internally, which has contributed to them advancing to the CEO position. In contrast to women, men describe that opportunities create the individual, they are not given. The results of our study show that being part of significant networks provides opportunities. The respondents experience age as an obstacle, that they have been young in senior positions is perceived to be problematic. No respondent experiences any obstacles during the recruitment process. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och jämföra hur kvinnor och män på vd- position upplevt rekryteringsprocessen till posten som vd. Studien ämnar identifiera likheter och skillnader mellan kvinnor och mäns upplevelse av bidragande faktorer till att de rekryterats till posten som vd. Studien avser även skapa förståelse för vilka möjligheter och hinder kvinnor respektive män upplevt påverka deras väg till vd- posten. Studien är komparativ och det empiriska materialet består av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem kvinnor och fem män som rekryterats till vd- posten. I studien framkommer att det mest centrala för att rekryteras till vd-posten är att vara en del av nätverk, ha tillgång till socialt kapital och ha ”good success stories”. Detta beskrivs av både våra kvinnliga och manliga respondenter. Någon typisk process kan inte identifieras. Rekryteringsprocessen upplevs som ”gedigen” och ”vattentät” av majoriteten av respondenterna. Studien visar att fyra av fem kvinnor rekryterats internt, de har således inkluderats i nätverk internt. Bland våra manliga respondenter har fyra av fem rekryterats externt, vilket tyder på att de inkluderats i nätverk utanför organisationen. Vi finner att kvinnor upplevt att de fått möjligheter internt, vilket varit bidragande till att de avancerat till vd-posten. Männen beskriver i motsats till kvinnorna att möjligheter skapar individen, de ges inte. Vår studies resultat visar att vara del av betydelsefulla nätverk ger möjligheter. Respondenterna upplever ålder som ett hinder, att de varit unga på seniora poster upplevs varit problematiskt. Ingen respondent upplever några hinder under rekryteringsprocessen.

This study investigates if the proportion of women on Board of Directors (BOD) and Top Management Teams (TMT) in Swedish listed firms affect the financial performance. Using a sample of 1,432 firm-year observations for firms listed at Nasdaq Stockholm during the years 2012-2019, the study estimates multiple regressions to investigate the association between proportion of women on BODs and TMTs and firms’ financial performance, measured as ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q. Using an interaction variable, the study also investigates if female representation in TMT affects the association between BOD gender diversity and financial performance. Furthermore, in line with critical mass theory, the study investigates whether there is a specific threshold of female representation that needs to be achieved for the performance effect to occur. The study’s results provide some evidence for a positive association between proportion of women on BOD and financial performance, but only possible indications for a negative effect of proportion of women in TMTs and financial performance. No support is found for the interaction effect. The positive impact of female representation on BOD and TMT does not seem to depend on any critical mass threshold. The study contributes with a new perspective on how gender diversity on several firm levels affects the financial performance.

The dissertation thesis dealt with the managerial competencies in the small manufacturing enterprises in the Czech Republic. The research aimed to examine the current level of these competencies on the sample of top managers of those enterprises. The chosen topic is topic of current importance due the competency development for enhancing the managerial performance. The thesis elaboration was based on the detailed literature review of national and international publications in the respected scientific journals, and on the in-depth analyses conducted through the primary researches. The main objective of the dissertation thesis was to detect the competency level of top managers in the small manufacturing enterprises in the context of business management and to identify the key variables influencing the discovered competency level and on the basis of research findings provide recommendations for further competency development. The main objective was supported with four partial objectives and five research hypotheses. On the basis of results of executed pilot research on managerial competencies the model of managerial competencies was established, and further verified in the author’s primary research. Within the data analysis and data evaluation, the competency level was formed. The dependences of competencies on examined variables were tested empirically. Those variables were sex, length of current and total practice, age, ownership and education. The aggregated research results were compared with the literature review and based on this comparison, the recommendations for further managerial competency level improvement were provided. The conclusions and further research aims form the integral part of the dissertation thesis.

As market conditions constantly change in today's competitive landscape, businesses must invest in organizational changes to stay relevant. Despite the high frequency of change projects worldwide, multiple sources state that 70% of all change projects fail. Consequently, change management has become a highly researched area to understand and propose strategies to organizations to increase the chance for successful change implementation. The literature reviewed in this study indicated a gap in current research in understanding the feasibility of managerial strategies and employee preferences. Therefore, the research purpose was to address what preferences can be identified amongst the employees and when assessing the appropriate timing for incorporating employee preferences throughout the implementation stage of a change project. To provide practical implications to managers, the research question addressed was formulated as “How do management utilize employee preferences in preparing for a strategic change project?" To address the research question and purpose, the study conducted an employee survey to identify employee preferences in a strategic change project. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with first-line managers to evaluate their current strategies in change projects. The sample consisted of employees and managers from a large 200-year-old multinational organization in finance. The study indicated that employees and managers preferred transparent and frequent communication. However, employees highlighted that the possibility to provide feedback and input was higher than the ability to impact the change project. This discrepancy indicates a misalignment of whether the feedback and input can reach the project leaders or if the preferences are neglected for other reasons. To address the appropriate timing of when management could consider employee preferences, a framework has been developed in relation to the data collected and best practices according to the literature reviewed. The framework proposes a practical implication to management when preferences are to be considered in terms of what type of change project is performed to increase the likelihood of the change project implementation. / Eftersom marknadsvillkoren ständigt förändras i dagens konkurrensutsatta landskap krävs det att företag investerar i organisatoriska förändringar för att fortsätta vara relevanta. Trots den höga frekvensen av förändringsprojekt runt om i världen, hävdar flera källor att 70\% av alla förändringsprojekt slutar i misslyckande. Som en följd har förändringsledning blivit ett mycket forskat område, för att förstå och föreslå strategier till organisationer och ledare om hur man kan öka chansen för en lyckad förändring. Litteratur-genomgången i denna studie indikerade en brist i nuvarande forskning i förståelsen av genomförbarheten av ledningsstrategier och anställdas preferenser. Därför var syftet att undersöka vilka preferenser som kan identifieras bland de anställda och när det är lämpligt att ta hänsyn till de anställdas preferenser under implementeringen av ett förändringsprojekt. För att ge praktiska implikationer till chefer formulerades forskningsfrågan som "Hur använder chefer anställdas preferenser i förberedelsen av ett strategiskt förändringsprojekt?" För att adressera forskningsfrågan genomförde studien en enkätundersökning bland anställda för att identifiera deras preferenser i ett strategiskt förändringsprojekt. Dessutom genomfördes halvstrukturerade intervjuer med första linjens chefer för att utvärdera deras nuvarande strategier i förändringsprojekt. Urvalet bestod av anställda och chefer från en stor 200-årig multinationell organisation, verksamma inom finanssektorn. Resultaten av studien visade att både anställda och chefer föredrog transparent och frekvent kommunikation. Anställda betonade att möjligheten att ge feedback och input var högre än förmågan att påverka förändringsprojektet. Denna diskrepans indikerar en brist på överensstämmelse, där feedback och input inte når projektledarna eller att preferenser försummas av andra skäl. För att adressera den lämpliga tidpunkten för när chefer kan överväga anställdas preferenser har ett ramverk utvecklats utifrån den insamlade datan och den granskade litteraturen. Ramverket föreslår en praktisk tillämpning för chefer när preferenser ska beaktas i relation till vilket typ av förändringsprojekt som utförs, detta för att öka sannolikheten för genomförandet av förändringsprojektet.