Zugl.: Köln, Universiẗat, Diss., 1999 u.d.T.: Martens, Knuth: Beteiligungsfinanzierung, asymmetrische Information und Managementüberwachung durch den Aufsichtsrat.

Thesis (MA)--Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management, 1989. / Bibliography: final [7] leaves (Appendix 4)

Introduction: There are many components that are required for an organisation to be successful in its chosen field. These components vary from corporate culture, to corporate leadership, to effective protection of important assets. These and many more contribute to the success of an organisation. One component that should be a definitive part in the strategy of any organisation is information security. Information security is one of the fastest growing sub-disciplines in the Information Technology industry, indicating the importance of this field (Zylt, 2001, online). Information security is concerned with the implementation and support of control measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronically stored information (BS 7799-1, 1999, p 1). Information security is achieved by applying control measures that will lessen the threat, reduce the vulnerability or diminish the impact of losing an information asset. However, as a result of the fact that an increasing number of employees have access to information, the protection of information is no longer only dependent on physical and technical controls, but also, to a large extent, on the actions of employees utilising information resources. All employees have a role to play in safeguarding information and they need guidance in fulfilling these roles (Barnard, 1998, p 12). This guidance should originate from senior management, using good corporate governance practices. The effective leadership resulting from good corporate governance practices is another component in an organisation that contributes to its success (King Report, 2001, p 11). Corporate governance is defined as the exercise of power over and responsibility for corporate entities (Blackwell Publishers, 2000, online). Senior management, as part of its corporate governance duties, should encourage employees to adhere to the behaviour specified by senior management to contribute towards a successful organisation. Senior management should not dictate this behaviour, but encourage it as naturally as possible, resulting in the correct behaviour becoming part of the corporate culture. If the inner workings of organisations are explored it would be found that there are many hidden forces at work that determine how senior management and the employees relate to one another and to customers. These hidden forces are collectively called the culture of the organisation (Hagberg Consulting Group, 2002, online). Cultural assumptions in organisations grow around how people in the organisation relate to each other, but that is only a small part of what corporate culture actually covers (Schein, 1999, p 28). Corporate culture is the outcome of all the collective, taken-for-granted assumptions that a group has learned throughout history. Corporate culture is the residue of success. In other words, it is the set of procedures that senior management and employees of an organisation follow in order to be successful (Schein, 1999, p 29). Cultivating an effective corporate culture, managing an organisation using efficient corporate governance practices and protecting the valuable information assets of an organisation through an effective information security program are, individually, all important components in the success of an organisation. One of the biggest questions with regard to these three fields is the relationship that should exist between information security, corporate governance and corporate culture. In other words, what can the senior management of an organisation, using effective corporate governance practices, do to ensure that information security practices become a subconscious response in the corporate culture?.

This study endeavours to conceptualise the corporate trust construct and its relationship with corporate reputation more holistically, to address the current perceived lack of conceptual clarity of the relationship between these two constructs. The key premise of this study is that a for-profit organisation’s ability to generate sustainable wealth over time and ensure its own long-term economic sustainability is related to its relationship with its entire stakeholder network. Since an organisation is dependent on its stakeholders’ approval, commitment and supportive behaviour, it is important to understand what influences and drives their perceptions and assessment of an organisation, and their decision to support it. This highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between corporate reputation and corporate trust. For this purpose this researcher has developed a conceptual model founded on basic, theoretical research, with the aim of clarifying current and existing theory and providing a new theoretical perspective. A conceptual model is a simplified and systematic representation of reality, which is made explicit in some abstract form. The descriptive and explicative properties of a model delineate the complex elements of the system more clearly, which fosters systematic thinking and enhances understanding. The model developed as the result of this study suggests an inverse direction to the generally accepted view in current literature of the relationship between corporate trust and corporate reputation. Where trust is usually regarded as an attribute or antecedent of corporate reputation, this study has conceptualised trust as an outcome of corporate reputation and as the more comprehensive construct in the relationship. Corporate reputation has been conceptualised as being merely a means to an end – to earn stakeholders’ trust and thus their commitment and continued support – and not as an end in itself. Trustworthiness, and not trust, has been identified as the key driver of corporate reputation. Seven key areas in which an organisation should display its trustworthiness have been identified. These are proposed as the new antecedents of corporate reputation in order to build a reputation that will lead to stakeholders’ trust and support. Finally, recommendations have been made and the areas requiring further research have been identified. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Marketing Management / PhD / Unrestricted

Previously, an organisation's attributes (corporate appeal, product and services, social responsibility, vision and leadership, workplace environment, and financial performance) were used as determinants of corporate reputation. In other words, corporate reputation was measured using a multidimensional single construct. However, there are arguments suggesting that, in order to obtain more accurate conclusions, an organisation's attributes need to be treated as antecedents whereby organisation's attributes are used to predict corporate reputation. Thus, this study is aimed at testing the impact of an organisation's attributes that is product, corporate personality and corporate responsibility on corporate reputation, and the mediating effect of corporate reputation in influencing stakeholders' purchase intention. Malaysia national car brands are used as a case reference for this study. Using a quantitative research approach, this study found that not all attributes contribute to positive reputation and intentions. The impact of each attribute varies across different stakeholder groups and across brands. Using a sample of 419 automobile customers and 300 Malaysia national car dealers, this study shows that only corporate personality has a positive and significant influence on corporate reputation and it is consistent across both groups and brands. Corporate responsibility, on the other hand, is found to have a positive influence on corporate reputation assessed by customers, but is not significant for dealers. The effect of customers' and dealers' satisfaction on the products is rather mixed. Results from this study provide empirical evidence that reputation should not be measured using a multidimensional single construct in order to draw a more accurate conclusion. This study also contributes to practice as it provides a distinct view for corporations to establish good rapport and to assist in developing effective strategies for the relevant groups of stakeholders. Recommendations are also discussed to provide focus for future research.

Masterarbeit über die Untersuchung eines Designsystems am Fallbeispiel Audi. Analyse des Designsystems aus unterschiedlichen Bezugspunkten: Erstellung und Aufbau, Designsystem-Team, Bestandteile des Systems, Designsystem-Toolchain, Brand-Portal.:1. Einleitung 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Ziel der Arbeit
 1.3 Methodisches Vorgehen und Aufbau
 2. Begriffe und Definitionen 2.1 Crossmedia 2.2 Corporate Design 2.3 Designsystem 3. Theoretische Grundlagen 3.1 Grundlagen des Corporate Designs 3.1.1 Einordnung in das Modell Corporate Identity 3.1.2 Bestandteile des Corporate Designs 3.1.3 Umsetzung des Corporate Designs in Unternehmen 3.1.4 Nutzen von Corporate Design 3.2 Dokumentationsformen des Corporate Designs 3.2.1 Corporate-Design-Manual 3.2.2 Pattern Library 3.2.3 Designsystem 3.3 Aufbau von Designsystemen 3.3.1 Allgemeines 3.3.2 Prinzipien und Guidelines 3.3.3 Visuals 3.3.4 Komponenten und Ressourcen 3.4 Einsatz von Designsystemen in Unternehmen 3.4.1 Allgemeine Anforderungen an das Designsystem 3.4.2 Voraussetzungen im Unternehmen 3.4.3 Erstellung einer Toolchain 3.4.4 Erstellung und Pflege des Designsystems 3.4.5 Designsystem-Team 3.4.6 Brand-Portale 4. Vorgehensweise und Methodik 4.1 Fallbeispiel 4.2 Vergleich der Designsystem-Software 5. Realisierung und Durchführung 5.1 Recherche und Auswahl 5.2 Datenerhebung 5.2.1 Websites, Tools und Anwendungen 5.2.2 Durchführung des Experteninterviews 5.3 Analyse des Designsystems 5.3.1 Erstellung und Aufbau 5.3.2 Designsystem-Team 5.3.3 Bestandteile des Audi-Designsystems 5.3.4 Designsystem-Toolchain 5.3.5 Brand-Portal 5.3.6 Aktueller Stand des Designsystems 6. Bewertung der erarbeiteten Erkenntnisse 6.1 Analyse der Erkenntnisse 6.1.1 Vorteile und Chancen von Designsystemen 6.1.2 Nachteile und Risiken von Designsystemen 6.2 Limitationen der Untersuchung 6.3 Leitfaden für den Einsatz von Designsystemen im Unternehmen 7. Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 7.1 Zusammenfassung der Hauptergebnisse 7.2 Zukünftige Entwicklung

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Abstract   Date 2010-05-28   Level: Bachelor thesis in international business 15 hp   Authors:   Moa Ekerhed  Mariana Sandvall   Birth year 1986   Birth year 1988   Supervisor:            Susanne Sandberg   Commissioned by: SIDA   Project: Minor field study Title: Corporate social responsibility – A case study of three Swedish MNC`s in the emerging Peruvian market   Purpose: The purpose with this thesis is to gain understanding of how Swedish multinational corporations work with CSR in an emerging market. We will study what kind of CSR they are implementing on the market and how their surrounding environment influences them. From a theoretical perspective we will analyze the impact of the stakeholders and how they gain legitimacy, further how this is taken into practice. Method: The research is built upon a qualitative method where the primary data was studied from conducting several interviews concerning corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices. The research was conducted with an abductive research approach. The three companies that were examined were SKF, Atlas Copco and Securitas. We also performed interviews with the Nordic Chamber of Commerce and the Swedish General Council in Peru.   Conclusions: Our conclusion is that the CSR concept is very in time and companies are nowadays raising more awareness of CSR issues and implementing more CSR and sustainability practices. The stakeholders are becoming more important than ever and in order to gain legitimacy companies have to work hand in hand with their stakeholders and surrounding environment to be able to achieve a sustainable future. CSR is vital for the sustainability and plays a significant role for the future of corporation’s existence and progress.   Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, sustainability, stakeholder, legitimacy, the Peruvian market and cooperation.

This thesis is an examination of the financial consequences of corporations engaging in socially responsible activities. It is motivated by the recognition that a socially responsible approach can fundamentally change the conduct and operation of business, which in turn may have a significant impact on financial outcomes both for individual companies as well as the wider economy. If social responsibility improves financial performance then managers, investors and society at large can have confidence that these activities increase prosperity as well as social welfare, making them unequivocally desirable. Four empirical studies were undertaken of different but related financial aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR), specifically; the determinants of social responsibility and the effect of social responsibility on profitability, market value and stock return. In chapter two corporate social responsibility was found to be consistently and positively related to company size and certain industry characteristics, in particular companies that deal directly with the public (rather than with other companies) and companies in extractive and regulated industries were associated with a greater engagement in CSR. Although in some instances a positive link was found between return on assets and subsequent levels of corporate social responsibility the results were not consistent suggesting that higher than average profitability is not a prerequisite or consistent spur to additional social responsibility. A new methodology was also deployed, system GMM as another way of assessing the corporate social responsibility / corporate financial performance relationship; this gave broadly similar results. Chapter three assessed the relationship between social responsibility and responsibility on profitability. There was a positive significant association with return on assets but generally insignificant results when return on sales was used as the measure of financial performance. This may indicate that social responsibility is materially associated with a better utilisation of the internal assets used by a business but that this does not extend to obtaining better margins from external customers. Alternatively it may indicate that CSR has no consistent unambiguous effect on financial results or finally that it is difficult to witness an effect by using a cross sectional approach. To more directly assess if social responsibility has an impact on financial performance a time series analysis was also carried out, no significant result was found. However given the degree of inertia in corporate social responsibility the five years of data available is unlikely to be a sufficiently long to detect any effect. Chapter four contains a study of the effect of corporate social responsibility on market value. This uses value relevance methodology which is a relatively new approach and has the advantage of both directly addressing the principal concern of critics of CSR, that it impairs shareholder wealth. On average corporate social responsibility was found to be associated with higher market value and by implication a better level of profit and/or lower levels of risk. The final empirical study in chapter five examined the role of corporate social responsibility and risk as a way of parsing the result in the previous chapter and assessing whether investor cash flow or risk was the cause of enhanced market valuations. This also has the advantage of directly looking at stock returns which is a prime concern of ethical investors. Three different methodologies were used; in each case the effect noted was small and generally not significant, suggesting that social responsibility has little discernible effect on risk and hence stock return in the UK. Overall it appears that corporate social responsibility is associated with greater market value but that no consistent unambiguous significant association between corporate social responsibility and profitability could be found using a cross sectional study. The methodologies used in the various chapters are quite different and there are also obvious differences between market value and profitability, however a more consistent result should be expected. When more extensive data sets become available a longer run time series analysis should provide additional information on the effect of corporate social responsibility on financial performance and provide a useful adjunct to this study.

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