The South African mining industry has been, and continues to be, the main contributor of the country’s GDP. The listed mining companies have a great contribution to the market capitalisation of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE, 2014). Pre-1994, the mining companies had been under scrutiny for a wide range of negative environmental and social impacts in their operational areas. The mining companies were accused of a lack of sustainability plans, carbon emissions, land rehabilitation plans, pollution and lack of community engagement (Buccasa, 2013). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a platform for the mining industry to correct the errors of the past and to contribute towards socio-economic development and environmental concerns. Through the implementation of CSR initiatives, the mining companies have brought about a significant change in the lives of people affected by mining industry. In return, the mining companies have built a good reputation which had been tarnished in the past. The objective of the study was to explore the role of CSR in the mining industry and determine how CSR initiatives had impacted the lives of the beneficiaries in the mining sector. The research identified three sustainability dimensions, which are: environment, social aspects and economic aspects. The aim of the study was to establish whether CSR initiatives have contributed towards sustainable development. The study established how the JSE/SRI listed mining companies reported CSR and determined the types of initiatives implemented. The study identified the similarities and differences in the CSR initiatives being implemented by 10 selected mining companies listed in the JSE/SRI index. The study also identified sustainable development issues faced by the South African mining industry. The study reviewed how these mining companies reported their CSR and identified regulating bodies and codes that promoted CSR. The study also determined the role that the JSE/SRI index plays towards the development of CSR and sustainable development in the mining sector in South Africa. Integrated reports and sustainability reports of the mining companies were used for data collection to establish how these companies reported CSR and disclosed their CSR strategies on the internet. The mining companies which were analysed were mining companies listed in the JSE/SRI index from 2010 – 2014. The JSE/SRI index is aligned with global sustainability guidelines and locally relevant corporate responsibility standards. The study determined the significance of JSE/SRI listing towards the development of CSR; in relation to environmental, social and economic development in the mining industry.

A Tecnologia da Informação e a internet passaram a proporcionar novo ambiente de negócios onde consumidores, empresas e fornecedores encontraram alternativa aos tradicionais processos de negócios: o comércio eletrônico (e-commerce) e a as lojas virtuais (webstores). Dada a relevância desta mudança e o que este novo formato de compra passou a representar, diversos pesquisadores passaram a apresentar colaborações acadêmicas relevantes sobre o tema. Dentre estes estudos, muitos passaram a destacar a importância das características e da imagem dos sites no comportamento de recompra dos consumidores. A partir desta constatação, a presente dissertação teve como objetivo identificar as dimensões que configuram a imagem de loja online e seus impactos sobre a intenção de recompra, com recorte no consumo de serviço de lazer e turismo contratado através de site de comércio eletrônico, acessado pelo consumidor a partir de equipamentos tradicionais e/ou mobilidade e tendo a internet como meio de acesso. Para tanto, identificou-se que a imagem de loja online pode ser configurada a partir de oito dimensões (acessibilidade, layout, oferta, promoção, preço, reputação, apoio e serviços), suportadas pela revisão teórica dos principais estudos acadêmicos relacionados ao tema. Os dados desse estudo tiveram como método de coleta a aplicação de pesquisa do tipo survey, sendo o instrumento de pesquisa questionário validado por Bèzes (2014), com a participação de 375 respondentes, de 6 cidades e 3 estados. As principais contribuições do estudo foram: a validação no contexto brasileiro de consumo de serviços de turismo e lazer a escala de imagem de loja virtual de Bèzes (2014); a identificação das dimensões que mais explicaram a imagem de loja; o o impacto da imagem de loja sobre a intenção de recompra; a não confirmação da satisfação como moderadora da relação entre a imagem de loja e a intenção de recompra e; o efeito da imagem de loja sobre a propaganda boca a boca e esta sobre a intenção de recompra. / Information Technology and the Internet have started to provide a new business environment where consumers, companies and suppliers have found an alternative to traditional business processes: e-commerce and webstores. Given the relevance of this change and what this new transactional format came to represent, several researchers began to present relevant academic collaborations on the subject. Among these studies, many started to emphasize the importance of the characteristics and the image of the sites in the consumer buyback behavior. Based on this finding, this dissertation aimed to identify the dimensions that configure the image of online store and its impacts on the intention of repurchase, with a cut in the consumption of leisure and tourism services contracted through e-commerce sites, accessed by the traditional equipment and / or mobility and having the Internet as a means of access. To that end, it was identified that the online store image can be configured from eight dimensions (accessibility, layout, offer, promotion, price, reputation, support and services) supported by the theoretical review of the main academic studies related to the theme. The data of this study had as a method of collection the application of research of the type survey, being the research instrument questionnaire validated by Bèzes (2014), with the participation of 375 respondents, from 6 cities and 3 states. The main contributions of the study were: the validation in the Brazilian context of consumption of tourism and lazer services the image scale of Bèzes webstore (2014); the identification of the dimensions that most explained the store image; o the impact of the store image on the intention of repurchase; the reject of satisfaction as moderator of the relationship between store image and repurchase intent; the effect of the store image on word of mouth advertising and this on the intention of repurchase.

A university’s alumnus grouping is one of its most valuable assets in terms of its potential financial, strategic and social contribution towards the credibility and longevity of the institution. The goodwill and support of a primary stakeholder grouping such as the alumni is crucial to the aspirations of a Higher Education institution wanting to prosper in a fast-changing and highly competitive market. Alumni members have the capacity to assist in strategically positioning a tertiary institution as a market leader in the South African Higher Education Sector (SAHES) by means of representation on the institutional council and their involvement in networking, lifelong learning, career services, mentoring, fundraising and community development activities. In light of the restructuring and transformation that this sector has undergone since 1994, building and maintaining valuable relationships with alumni stakeholders of tertiary institutions in South Africa has become a new and more difficult challenge. The integrated network approach of relationship management could give an institution the opportunity to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved. Information technology has had a significant impact on the power structure and relationship between organisations and their publics, stakeholders and the media. It has become extremely difficult for organisations to define and segment these audiences as, for example, Internet audiences are widely spread across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries. This makes the packaging and dissemination of information a much more challenging task, as information needs to be generic enough to be commonly understood, but should also be personalised in such a way that it still addresses the different audience segmentations effectively. However, the identification and profiling of target audiences is critical for successful information dissemination, as this knowledge will guide the information managers within organisations in compiling relevant (to the target audiences) content and packaging the information in a way that is most suitable to the needs and resources of the targeted group. At the core of developing an alumni network is a secure database with an interactive Web-based platform allowing the alumni management teams and members to disseminate and share relevant information freely. According to a research project (the first phase of a longitudinal study) about disseminating information to UJ alumni, 98,2% of the respondents indicated that they wanted to have contact with the UJ Alumni Relations Office (Barnard, Rensleigh & Niemann, 2005). The majority of respondents, 86,7%, indicated that they preferred to receive the information via electronic mail or from the website. The research findings indicated that the UJ alumni stakeholder group is part of a privileged section of the South African population in the global and national digital divide. Thus, the alumni management of UJ had the opportunity to explore and use the information-sharing options offered by online and digital technologies. This research project forms the second phase of the ongoing research project in an attempt to discard the “one-size-fits-all” notion with regard to information sharing with the alumni stakeholders of tertiary institutions in South Africa. The aim of this research project is to determine the extent to which an online community portal could manage the information needs of alumni stakeholders in the SAHES, using the alumni of the University of Johannesburg as a case study. Establishing an online (virtual) community Web portal for UJ alumni will support a customised approach in terms of information content, dissemination, context and commerce. An online community environment will offer alumni opportunities to re-establish contact with peers and nurture relationships with one another through frequent social interaction (chat). Such a facility would allow and encourage conversations that are of value to all stakeholders, as these communities can exist beyond the boundaries of location and time. They foster not only the potential to promote business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C), but also consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interaction and could even exploit the possibilities of human-resource placements. The research consisted of an extensive literature review followed by a quantitative empirical survey and a qualitative discussion forum. The purpose of the literature review was to establish a theoretical framework in order to lay a solid foundation from which the empirical research was conducted. The different components of the research problem were discussed as well as possible variables that could influence the research problem. The restructuring of the South African Higher Education Sector was investigated, with specific focus on the University of Johannesburg and its alumni stakeholder group, taking an in-depth look into the value that an alumni stakeholder group holds for an institution. The management of alumni information needs was discussed, using Web-technology as focal point. Online community portals were defined, emphasising the benefits that this information tool could have for Higher Education alumni. As part of the quantitative study, an empirical survey was conducted in April 2006 among the alumni of the University of Johannesburg to determine their information needs concerning an online community portal, and the content required of such an online community model. A total number of 10 380 questionnaires was distributed to graduates of the University of Johannesburg at the Autumn Graduation ceremonies. The questionnaire consisted of four sections, namely Section A: Biographical Information, Section B: Online Activities, Section C: Alumni Information Services and Section D: Alumni Community Needs. In total, 1 703 questionnaires were completed and returned by these graduates to the UJ Alumni Relations Office. In addition, a qualitative discussion forum was conducted among 35 alumni management representatives from fourteen SAHES institutions during August 2006. The representatives indicated how information was disseminated electronically to alumni target audiences and their opinions towards alumni online community portals were tested. The research results indicated that an online community portal, could manage, to a great extent, the information needs of alumni in the South African Higher Education Sector (UJ alumni case study). Consequently, a prototype was proposed for an online community portal for SAHES alumni that would have a significant impact on the information and communication methods used to build alumni networks, for the benefit of both the alumni stakeholders and the Higher Education institutions in South Africa. Although the alumni of the University of Johannesburg served as a case study for this research project, the proposed prototype could be tailored to the needs of other alumni organisations throughout the South African Higher Education Sector. In terms of inter-institutional collaboration, this research project offers an opportunity to liaise and share information with other alumni organisations of the SAHES. This could result in successfully identifying a best practice model for managing the information needs of alumni stakeholder groups of tertiary institutions in developing countries, which is significantly different from the philanthropic approach to these stakeholder groups in first world countries. As a result, the employment sector of Higher Education institutions in South Africa could gain from the research outcomes, as the proposed prototype will offer an ICT and Web-based solution which could be applied for the mutual benefit of the relevant stakeholder groups and the institutions. / Prof. Chris Rensleigh

Corporate image reflects on how a company is perceived to the public outside of the organisation. It is based on the reputation the company already has and constantly creates. Today numerous people use and rely on social media networks which encourage companies to try to reach their audiences and shape company image by the usage of different digital networks. One of the platforms where companies can represent their business is LinkedIn, as it is designed specifically for organizations and individuals to develop a professional image. One of the platform’s most popular feature is the possibility to post job advertisings that are seen in several platform areas. These job offers serve as a recruitment tool but also simultaneously shape the image of a company. Therefore, it is interesting to explore how job posts of a company manage to stay informative, focused on the targeted audience and, at the same time, shape corporate image. Thesis project, “Communicating corporate image: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis on LinkedIn Job Advertisements”, aims to examine how world leading Swedish companies create their corporate image through job advertisements posted on the social media platform LinkedIn and what that image is. The study draws on media logic theory together with the concept of discourse and tries to reach the project’s aim by applying multimodal critical discourse analysis. By this model, job advertisements of 3 companies based in Sweden were analysed. Results show that corporate image through job advertisements is created equally by the company and the platform LinkedIn. Companies in job advertisements use semi-formal language, creative elements, address accomplishments, values and goals to attract the reader. While LinkedIn places main company information that can influence job advertisement readers to obtain a primary opinion about the enterprise.

Background: In previous years, Swedish company Na-kd has been promoted in the media due to allegations of poor working conditions. While this has potentially taken a hit on the company’s reputation, studying the relationship between corporate actions and perceptions of the public has been neglected. People engage in political consumerism to express their opinions regarding political, social, or ethical concerns, which could for example include boycotting (refusing to shop at) a specific company. Previous literature within the political consumerism and corporate brand reputation stream pays little attention to understanding the relationship between the two, which includes the impact of corporate brand reputation on political consumerism. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between political consumerism and corporate reputation, where corporate reputation is impacted by CSR, employer branding, corporate image, and crisis exposure. Method: This research has adopted a deductive structure and a quantitative approach where the Na-kd case was used as a stimulus/prompt. A non-probability sampling approach was used, and primary data was collected through an online questionnaire where results were exported and analyzed in SPSS software. The methods of analysis were correlations and the sample consisted of 114 female respondents in the ages of 18-35. Findings: To test the hypotheses Pearson’s Chi-Square test and Spearman’s rho was conducted and calculated to test the relationship and its strength between the chosen variables. The results proved to be significant, and all five hypotheses were supported, which concludes that corporate reputation is influenced by poor CSR activities, poor employer branding, negative corporate image, and crisis exposure which in terms affects consumer purchase decisions to boycott, buycott or doing nothing. Originality/Value: This research proves that there is a positive correlation between negative corporate reputation and political consumerism, which contributes to the political consumerism stream within the consumer research domain as well as literature about corporate brand reputation within the field of brand marketing.

Under de senaste åren har intresset för hållbarhet ökat avsevärt, där miljömedvetna produkter efterfrågas allt mer i samhället. Då ett socialt ansvar har vuxit fram hos konsumenterna behöver även marknaden anpassa sig till denna efterfrågan. Denna trend går att se i stor utsträckning inom livsmedelshandeln där företag dagligen konkurrerar med varandra om att tillfredsställakundens behov. Det blir därför av stor vikt för företag att kunna kommunicera sina ändamål genom valet av färg, form och material. Inom grön marknadsföring finns det ännu ett outforskat område där konsumentens uppfattning av produkter med attribut som förmedlar en grön image inte har studerats på djupet. Denna studie undersöker därför hur konsumenter uppfattar förpackningsdesign som producenterna avser kommunicera miljömedvetenhet. Detta utförs genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod för att få en djupare förståelse för konsumentbeteendetoch beslutsprocessen vid köp av dryck med grön image. Studien genomförs i Stockholm och består av fyra semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer med respondenter i åldrarna 22–30 år. Studien visar på att trovärdighet verkar var den mest avgörande faktorn vid köpbeslutet hos konsumenter. Trovärdigheten går att koppla till en god kommunikation som på ett tydligt sätt ligger i linje med vad produktens står för. Designattribut som kan förmedla miljömedvetenhet på ett tydligt sätt är färgen brun, en matt yta, vikning med sparsam användning av material, oredigerade fotografier, illustrationer som har en betydelse samt en minimalistisk design med färre textrutor. Unikt för studien är att tendenser går att se som tyder på att yngre konsumenter upplever att färgerna vit, grön och blå associeras med en äldre generation och deras uppfattning om vad som kommunicerar hållbarhet. Vidare forskning kan undersöka mer om ett eventuellt paradigmskifte mellan generationernas uppfattningar av färg och om konsumenterna uppfattar designattribut olika utifrån kulturella och sociala skillnader. / The interest in sustainability has grown during recent years, where environmentally conscious products are increasingly more in demand in society. As social responsibility has emerged for consumers, the market needs to adapt to this demand. This trend can be seen widespread in the food industry where companies compete with each other daily to satisfy the consumer needs. It therefore becomes of great importance for the company to be able to communicate their purpose through the choice of colors, shapes and materials. There is yet another unexplored field in green marketing where consumers' perspectives of products with attributes that convey a green image has not yet been studied in depth. This study therefore examines how consumers perceive packaging design that producers intend to communicate environmental awareness. This is carried out through a qualitative research method in order to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and the decision-making process when buying beverages with a green image. The research takes place in Stockholm and consists of four semi-structured focus group interviews with respondents in the ages of 22-33 years. The results of the study show that credibility seems to be the most decisive factor in purchasing decisions among consumers. Credibility in design can be linked to a good communication that is clearly in line with the product's value. Design attributes which can convey this environmental awareness are the color brown, a matte surface, folding with sparse use of materials, unedited photographs, illustrations that convey meaning and a minimalistic design with less text. Unique to this study is that trends can be seen that indicate that younger consumers experience that the color white, green and blue are associated with an older generation and their perception of what communicates sustainability. Further research can investigate more about possible paradigm shifts between generations´ perceptions of color and whether consumers perceive design attributes differently based on cultural and social differences.

Усиление кризисных явлений в российской экономике актуализирует необходимость контроля изменений динамики позиций предприятия. С количественной стороны это позволяют сделать финансово-экономические инструменты. Методики качественной оценки того, как воспринимается предприятие, какова его позиция в сознании представителей внешней среды недостаточно унифицированы и проработаны, а соответственно и не применяются на большинстве предприятий. / Strengthening crisis phenomena in the Russian economy actualizes the need to monitor changes in the dynamics of the company's positions. From a quantitative point of view, it is possible to make financial and economic instruments. The methods of qualitative assessment of how the enterprise is perceived, what its position in the minds of the representatives of the external environment is not sufficiently harmonized and elaborated, and accordingly they are not applied at most enterprises.

No

All companies, are vulnerable to events that could impact their reputation. These events can arise from various factors, such as a company's employment practices, economics, natural disasters, pollution, poor governance or poor management. Effective risk managers identify the different circumstances and factors that may impact on the reputation of a company, prior to the incident occurring. In order to assist risk managers, this dissertation proposes a structured approach to the management of reputational risks, which would ensure that the impact on the reputation of the company is minimised. The proposed approach was collated and deduced from the actions taken by companies that have suffered attacks against their reputations, but have successfully mitigated the consequences and minimised the damage to their reputations. Specific South African legislative requirements are also taken into account. This approach is highlighted and confirmed by contrasting it to the actions taken by companies that failed to counter the attacks on their reputation. / Business Management / M.Com. (Business Management)

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the 1990's researchers have been adding different perspectives to the phenomenon of corporate reputation and its management (Fombrun, 2002a: x; Gotsi & Wilson, 2001: 99). To some extent, the growing attention paid to this topic has come from a consciousness about prevailing trends in the current business landscape, such as the ongoing globalisation, the proliferation of media, the public's new focus on transparency and social responsibility, as well as an avalanche of corporate crises. Yet, besides leading to an unfortunately high fragmentation of the study subject in the academic area, a result of this rapidly increasing interest seemed to be a lack of practitioner's knowledge about the nature, potential, and practical implication of this new management issue (Abratt, 2001: 368). With the general aim to examine this assumed gap between reputation theory and practice, this empirical study therefore presents a preliminary attempt to explore how corporate reputation is approached in real business life. It focuses on the German business environment and seeks to investigate companies' current understanding of corporate reputation, as well as their moves towards fostering and protecting it. To be able to explore corporate reputation management in this particular business environment, the study uses a qualitative research design, for which a range of in-depth interviews are conducted with 18 managers of German companies. The results of this empirical research reveal how German companies understand, value, and approach the issue of reputation and its management. Examining the responses, it becomes evident that, although German companies attach high importance to the reputation issue, even with regard to a strategic consideration, they demonstrate a less specific and less pro-active approach when putting reputation management into practice. After all, this research project informs academics about areas in reputation management that still require theoretical underpinning, whereas practitioners can gain unique insights into what the current reputation management practice looks like and how it could possibly be improved. Thus, the ultimate value of this study stems from providing a bridge which enables these two groups to learn from and move towards one another. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsers het sedert die 1990s verskillende bydraes met betrekking tot die begrip, die reputasie van 'n maatskappy en die bestuur daarvan, gemaak (Fombrun, 2002a: x; Gotsi & Wilson, 2001: 99) Die groeiende belangstelling in hierdie onderwerp het tot 'n mate te doen met die bewuswording van heersende tendense in die sake-omgewing: toenemende globalisering; groei van die media; die publiek se aandrang op deursigtigheid en sosiale verantwoordelikheid; sowel as 'n stortvloed van korporatiewe krisisse. Tog, benewens die feit dat hierdie belangstelling tot die ongelukkige verbrokkeling van die studie-onderwerp op akademiese gebied lei, volg daar ook 'n gebrek aan praktiese kennis aangaande die aard, potensiaal en praktiese implikasies van hierdie nuwe bestuursgeskilpunt (Abratt, 2001: 368). Die doel van hierdie studie is om ondersoek in te stel na die veronderstelde gaping tussen die teorie en praktyk van reputasie-bestuur. Hierdie empiriese studie behels 'n voorlopige ondersoek na die hantering van 'n maatskappy se reputasie in die sake-wêreld. Dit fokus op die sake-omgewing in Duitsland en doen ondersoek na maatskappye se huidige opvattings oor korporatiewe reputasie sowel as die pogings wat deur maatskappye aangewend word om sodanige reputasie te bevorder en te beskerm. Die studie gebruik 'n kwalitatiewe ondersoekmetode in 'n poging om die bestuur van die korporatiewe reputasie in hierdie spesifieke sake-omgewing te ondersoek. Daar is gebruik gemaak van 'n aantal in-diepte onderhoude wat met 18 bestuurders van Duitse maatskappye gevoer is. Die bevindings van hierdie empiriese ondersoek dui aan hoe Duitse maatskappye die kwessie van maatskappy-reputasie, en die bestuur daarvan, begryp, na waarde skat, en benader. 'n Ontleding van die respondente se terugvoer lewer stawende getuienes dat, alhoewel hulle baie waarde heg aan die kwessie van reputasie, selfs met betrekking tot strategiese oorwegings, Duitse maatskappye 'n minder gedefinieerde en minder pro-aktiewe benadering volg sover dit die praktiese bestuur van reputasie betref. Ten slotte word bydraes gemaak ten opsigte van die akademiese kennis in die veld van reputasie-bestuur wat steeds mank gaan aan 'n teoretiese onderbou, terwyl die praktiese veld unieke insigte met betrekking tot huidige praktyke in reputasie-bestuur, en hoe dit verbeter kan word, bykry. Die uiteindelike waarde van die studie lê daarin dat dit kennis verskaf wat hierdie twee groepe bymekaar kan laat leer, en nader na mekaar kan laat beweeg.