Background: Risk and uncertainty as a concept resides in unknown results and uncertainties with the ability of affecting firms. With its ability to affect, comes the necessity for firms to adapt in its corporate strategic decision making. Corporate governance in its broad terms has been shown to impact strategic decision making. As the factors affecting it are not unanimous among prior literature, corporate governance mechanisms' relationship to risk is therefore relevant to examine in order to create a deeper understanding within the subject. Purpose: This paper aims to explain the relationship between strategic decision making with risk and uncertainty as well as the influence on this relationship from corporate governance mechanisms. Additionally, by studying these relationships in a Swedish context, we aim to build upon existing literature of corporate governance. Method: This study uses a positivist deductive approach using a quantitative strategy to investigate the risk-strategic relationship and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms. The study uses a research setting of Swedish firms listed at least one year on the large cap list on Stockholm stock exchange. The data was collected through financial and non-financial databases and annual reports. The data was analyzed using statistical tests. Findings: Change in R&D, capital structure, and employees are all impacted by risk and uncertainty, but change in dividends, intangible assets, and internationalization are unaffected. Risk-strategic connections are influenced by corporate governance mechanisms, but the effect of board independence is negligible. CEO age and gender impact, but not compensation. Identity of ownership matters, however not the concentration.

The South African construction industry is experiencing challenging times, like its counterparts globally, which has led to the failure of known large contractors. While some studies have suggested different reasons for this, a stream of scholars argued that company leadership contributes significantly to the organisation's performance. Studies on leadership in construction have mainly been undertaken at project level, considering that construction organisations are project-based. This study examined the leadership of construction organisations and whether the traits, skills, role, style and strategic decisions of company leaders impacted on the long-term performance and sustainability of contracting firms in South Africa. The main question investigated in this study is: what combination of leadership traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions results in superior and sustainable construction organisation performance, when moderated by strategic decisions of CEO/company leadership? The study draws from theoretical perspectives, namely the ‘upper echelons' theory, strategic leadership theory, and the Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM), to develop a conceptual framework. A convergent mixed-method research design was used to advance the investigation. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected construction company leaders of large contracting firms in the Western Cape, in positions of Group Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director in major building construction, civil engineering, or geo-technical companies of good repute. The survey instrument was pretested by construction company leaders before distribution to respondents and the Crobach Alpha test was used in testing the reliability of the study responses. The cidb provided the database of the construction leaders and a survey of contractors listed in Grades 7-9 of the cidb Register of Contractors was conducted. The responses of the samples on the survey question raised on their position also attests to this. At the end of the survey period between April and September 2020, 257 responses were received, representing 56.86% response rate. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), to validate the hypothesis developed that construction company leaders positively impact organisational performance through their strategic decisions on project management, change, and innovation and investment. In addition, the study also tested the hypothesis that strategic decisions mediate the relationship between construction companies' leadership components, characteristics, and construction organisation performance. The findings of this study reveal that decisions on change and innovation have the most impact to prevent business failure, and for construction organisation performance. Whilst there are other internal and external factors that may contribute to a firm's business outcomes, the findings of the study explain that the attributes of construction business leaders and their strategic decisions play a significant role in construction company leadership and construction organisation's outcomes. The leadership of construction companies is expected to be exhibit transformational qualities, cast visions, channel new opportunities, and reposition their companies according to the current and future economic situations. The gap between expectations and performance must thus be filled by leadership through their strategic decisions that are premeditated and calculated towards the expectations and visions of the construction companies. The study thus contributes to knowledge in leadership and construction research by demonstrating how the multi-dimensions of company leadership impact construction business organisation performance. The integration of leadership personality traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions provides a better measure of how leadership impacts organisational performance. The leadership framework developed from the study's findings made explicit the leadership traits, skills, style and strategic roles that would assist construction company leaders to operate their organisations sustainably and devise effective succession plans. The components of the leadership framework include the strategic leadership roles that construction organisational leaders must play, using catalytic leadership skills, transformational and transactional leadership approaches and inherent leadership traits, which could be developed through education, career experiences, mentoring and training. The study is limited to South Africa, which has implications for the generalisability of results.

Many features of the making of major managerial decisions have been covered by research - complexity, politicality, innovations, and so forth. Yet one - to which all others may be subject - remains almost untouched by research. It is the effects of societal culture on the way managers from different nations make, and implement, such decisions. This study compares the effects of a New World Latin dominated culture with those of an Old World Anglo-Saxon dominated culture, namely in Brazil and England respectively. It arises from the proposition that decision making, as well as other managerial practices, must be shaped by the cultures of the societies of which senior executives are part, in ways of which they themselves may be unaware. Methodologically, in response to the criticisms of earlier research which often attributed managerial and organizational differences to culture without direct evidence for that, this study began by composing portrayals of both cultures. The purpose of the portraits was to enable predictions of culturally affected elements in decision making, prior to empirical investigation. Data was collected by interview on twenty Brazilian and twenty English decisions in sixteen Brazilian and seventeen English organizations, ranging through a variety of manufacturing and service industries as well as universities. The examination of the results confirmed most of the predicted cultural characteristics. Differences although small on each variable were remarkably consistent across all variables. Brazilian strategic decision making was found to be dominated by a clique around the chief executive, who make fast decisions in a process strongly based on the social relationships between the participants. This style of decision making leads, in Brazil, to very informal processes, with little or no delays and, relatively speaking, less search for information. English decisions were found to be more consultative with more interests being involved in different stages of the process. Decisions in this country were characterized by caution and conservatism with some tendency to postpone decisions. Methodologically, the value of the prior conceptualization and description of societal culture is demonstrated since this gives meaning to the extensive differences found in all aspects of decision making. Theoretically, an attempt is made to elucidate the interconnectedness of societal culture and managerial behaviour.

Studien omfattar 50 observationer av bolag inom First North och undersöker två hypoteser relaterade till demografisk mångfald inom ledningsgrupper och strategiska beslut. I studien förväntades demografisk mångfald ha en negativ påverkan på effektiva strategiska beslut och en positiv påverkan på strategiska beslut av kvalitet. Hypoteserna accepterades delvis och studien konstaterade att endast en del av de demografiska karaktärsdragen har en påverkan på strategiska beslut. / The study contains 50 observations of companies in First North and examine two hypothesises related to demographic diversity in top management teams and strategic decisions. The study expected demographic diversty as having a negative impact on effective strategic decisions and have a positive impact on quality of strategic decisions. The hypothesises showed partial support and found that only some of the demographic characteristics had an impact on strategic decisions.

For some considerable time, client satisfaction has been a problematic issue in the UK construction industry with many projects failing to satisfy the client needs and meet or exceed the client expectations. Client satisfaction is, however, a key performance measure and a major determinant of project success. There is a common belief that strategic decisions made by clients have a significant impact on the levels of client satisfaction. Strategic decisions in the context of construction projects are often associated with project stages including pre-design, design, tender, construction, occupancy & maintenance and disposal and vary in nature. Consequently the impact of strategic decisions on client satisfaction depends as much on timing as on the subjects of the decisions. While such findings are useful to facilitate the industry’s focus on addressing the failure in achieving client satisfaction, and point to the route for improvement, they are arbitrary and do not provide a systematic basis for investigating the real impact on client satisfaction. The nature of strategic decisions and the significance of its impact on client satisfaction have not been clearly identified and client satisfaction has remained an elusive issue for a majority of construction professionals. This research was hence undertaken to seek empirical evidence of an interrelationship between strategic decisions and client satisfaction. Defining strategic decisions, often associated with project stages, as ones that are complex and made under uncertainty and have a long-term impact on project success, a quantitative research methodology combined with qualitative approaches, was adopted in investigating the interrelationship between strategic decisions and client satisfaction. Findings of a detailed literature review revealed that client satisfaction at any stage depends as much on the service quality attributes of service providers including overall service delivery, people of service providers and communications with clients as on the influence of strategic decisions and the client itself. These performance attributes and the groups of strategic decisions, referred as strategic decision cluster (SDC), were further assessed and the relationships between these measures and strategic decisions were examined using factor analysis and multiple regression modelling techniques. Analyses revealed SDCs including Design Approach, Procurement and Implementation predict better the outcomes of service quality and hence higher levels of client satisfaction. Service delivery and communications with clients have a positively significant correlation with the levels of client satisfaction. Of these two attributes, communications with clients makes the largest unique contribution to the variance and is considered the better predictor for client satisfaction. The developed models is validated via external and internal validation and the findings support the thesis that strategic decisions have a impact on client satisfaction by strongly influencing the performance of service quality although causality cannot be assumed. It is recommended that service providers including contractors and consultants devote more efforts to improve their performance on the attributes of service quality identified as having significant association with client satisfaction, particularly service delivery and communications with clients. Further research efforts focusing on providing a practical tool or expert system so as to address the practical issues for a wider range of clients and service providers are also recommended.

A significant drop in oil price in 2014 resulted in enormous pressure on marketing managers of international oilfield service companies to address new market expectations. In such competitive conditions, some marketing managers lack strategies to leverage profitability during downturns. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that senior marketing managers of international oilfield service companies in the Middle East successfully used to enhance sales performance, revenues, and profits during periods of declining oil prices. Theory of market segmentation, targeting, and positioning formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 5 senior marketing managers of international oilfield service companies throughout the Middle East. Data analysis was composed of organizing data, becoming familiar with the data, putting data in nodes, giving proper codes, interpreting the data, and presenting the results, which led to 5 primary themes including customers, relationship, differentiation, services, and prices. To increase reliability and reduce bias, triangulation was achieved by combining, comparing, and contrasting companies' annual reports and website contents with participants' information. Identifying the right strategies that lead to higher profitability is crucial for international oilfield companies. Developing dynamic segmentation strategies, targeting new market players, differentiating via innovation, and promoting reliable relationships increase the likelihood of grasping new opportunities. This study's implications for positive social change include having more sustainable and profitable firms contributing to prosperity of local communities, which leads to healthier economies and more stable societies.

In the United States, rural hospital closures increased 34% since 2015 due to financial reasons, affecting access to healthcare services in rural communities. For rural hospital leaders, improving the hospital's financial performance is a valuable strategic goal. This multiple case study was designed to explore strategies that rural hospital leaders implement to improve their hospital's financial performance in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and the United States Virgin Islands. The strategic decision-making framework supported the study because top leaders make decisions that affect the organization's health and survival. Fifteen rural hospital leaders who maintain their hospital's financial stability provided hospital documentation and pertinent strategic information from their respective semistructured interviews. Sections of text signifying concepts from collected documentation and transcribed interviews were organized and coded according to research question and interview questions to explore strategies rural hospital leaders implemented to improve their hospital's financial performance. The methods triangulation process encompassed comparing findings from the interview themes and hospital strategic documentation analysis. The key themes that emerged from coded data were rural hospital leaders' decision-making when addressing rural hospital financial performance, developing synergies with external providers and hospitals, creating effective short-term and long-term strategies, and translating success to the entire organization. Implications for social change include the potential to prevent rural hospital closure and ensure access to healthcare services for the communities rural hospitals serve.

A leader's unwillingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees negatively impacts the performance of a firm. There is a lack of research that measures a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees based on their individual risk propensities. The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence of the influence risk propensity has on a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority. Specifically, this study examined the extent that risk propensity of leaders affect delegating critical decision making authority to subordinate managers and employees. The research design was a quantitative cross-sectional, correlation study that involved 56 questions. The study participants (N = 102) were presidents, CEOs, corporate executives, and chairpersons. The Stimulating-Instrumental Risk Inventory measured risk propensity and the Delegation Decision Instrument measured the willingness delegate critical decision-making authority. Both instruments showed to be reliable in terms of internal consistency for the measurement tests. Survey results revealed a significant negative correlation between a leader's risk propensity and the willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority. These findings suggested that leaders who retain primary responsibility for critical decision making have high risk propensity while those who delegate decisions have less risk propensity. These findings may equip theorists of risk propensity and decision-making on the relationship between delegation behaviors, risk propensity, and organizational performance. This research and the resulting analysis provides decision makers a window into their individual risk propensity preferences.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-03-26T14:17:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Adão Alberto Blanco Nunes.pdf: 742624 bytes, checksum: 3b74f9f1fc81b6b3205f48428b446b27 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T14:17:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adão Alberto Blanco Nunes.pdf: 742624 bytes, checksum: 3b74f9f1fc81b6b3205f48428b446b27 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-31 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho tem por objetivo identificar quais práticas de controladoria podem suportar as decisões estratégicas nas empresas de transportes. Para atender este objetivo, foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso múltiplo em quatro empresas de transportes estabelecidas na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre/RS. As empresas participantes são especializadas em transporte rodoviário de cargas e têm marca consolidada no mercado. As entrevistas e o preenchimento do questionário ocorreram de abril a junho de 2014. Para a coleta dos dados, foi elaborado um roteiro de entrevista estruturada com respostas fechadas, dividido em três seções. Na seção 1, foi elaborado um questionário, contendo as principais práticas de controladoria validadas por especialistas. Na seção 2, foi elaborado um questionário com o objetivo de identificar qual a participação da controladoria na estratégia da empresa. Na seção 3, foram listadas as principais decisões estratégicas utilizadas pelas empresas. Quanto às práticas de controladoria utilizadas pelas empresas de transportes, constatou-se que, entre as 27 práticas de controladoria apresentadas, 16 são utilizadas por pelo menos por uma das empresas, enquanto que 11 não são utilizadas por nenhuma das empresas pesquisadas. Quanto à aderência das práticas de controladoria pelas empresas de transportes, constatou-se que a Empresa 3 tem a maior participação com 51,9% das práticas, e que a Empresa 1 tem a menor participação com 18,5% de utilização das práticas validadas. Analisando-se a utilização das decisões estratégicas listadas na literatura, constatou-se que 75,4% das decisões estratégicas são utilizadas por pelo menos uma das empresas pesquisadas, enquanto que 24,6% das decisões não são identificadas em nenhuma das empresas. Para verificar a similaridade entre as empresas, foi utilizado o índice de similaridade de Jaccard, com o qual se constatou que existe similaridade, visto que, na comparação das práticas de controladoria utilizadas entre as empresas, 83% das comparações apresentaram similaridade superior a 70%. Na comparação das decisões estratégicas, 67% das comparações também apresentaram similaridade superior a 70%. Além disso, os resultados mostraram que 7,4% das práticas de controladoria são consideradas decisivas ou muito importantes para 100% das empresas, e que 14,8% das práticas são consideradas decisivas ou muito importantes para 75% das empresas. Os resultados obtidos na análise dos dados coletados evidenciaram que as práticas de controladoria podem fornecer suporte para a formulação das decisões estratégicas da empresa. / This study aims to identify which controllership practices can support strategic decisions in transport enterprises. To attend this objective, was developed a multiple case study on four transportation companies established at the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre/RS. The participating companies are the specialized on road transportation load and they have consolidated brand in the market. The interviews and the fill in questionnaire occurred from April till June, 2014.To collect the information, was elaborated a structured schedule of interview with closed answers, divided into three sections. In section 1, was elaborated a questionnaire, holding the main practices of controller validate by specialists. In section 2, was elaborated a questionnaire with the objective to identify what’s the participation of the controller on the company strategy. In section 3, were listed the main strategic decision used by companies. As practices of controller used by the transportation companies, we noticed that among the 27 practices of controller presented, 16 are used by at least one of the companies, while 11 of them are not used by any of the researched companies. As the adherence of the controller practices by the companies of transportation, we notice that the company 3 has the major participation with 51,9% of the practices, and that the company 1 has the fewer participation with 18,5% of utilization from validate practices. Analyzing the utilization of the strategic decisions listed on literature, we noticed that 75,4% from strategic decisions are used for at least one of the researched companies, while 24,6% of the decisions are not indentified in any one of the companies. To verify the similarity index among companies, it was used the Jaccard similarity index, on which we notice that similarity really exists, seeing that, in comparison from practices of controller used among companies, 83% of comparisons presented similarity superior to 70%. In comparison of strategic decisions, 67% of the comparisons also presented similarity superior to 70%. Besides, the results showed that 7,4% from practices of controller are considered decisive or very important for 100% of the companies, and that 14,8% of the practices are considerate decisive or very important for 75% of the companies. The results obtained from the collected data in the analyses showed that the practices of controller can give support for the formulation of strategic decisions of the company.

The main goals of the thesis were to prepare an analysis of activities of strategic management, to improve the synergy between strategic and operational management, to enhance the quality of strategic decisions in selected company. The first step was to study and comparison of Czech and foreign professional literature and make literary summary that gives the reader into the issue of strategic management. The practical part is performed by first analysis of the current state of strategic and operational management in selected company through the following analyzes: STEP analysis, industry analysis, financial analysis, guided interview with the director of the company. Based on the results of previous analyzes were determined strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats of the company. Their influence is compared in the SWOT analysis. The last part presents proposals for measures that would lead to improving the coordination of strategic and operational management and an overall improvement in key areas of the company.