Managing competing institutional logics in governance of public-sector entities in Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siasa Issa Mzenzi ◽  
Abeid Francis Gaspar

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate how the governance practices of public-sector entities (PSEs) in Tanzania are shaped by competing institutional logics and strategies used to manage the logics.Design/methodology/approachIn the paper, empirical evidence was gathered through documentary sources, non-participant observations and in-depth interviews with members of boards of directors (BoDs), chief executive officers (CEOs), internal and external auditors, senior executives and ministry officials. The data were analyzed using thematic and pattern-matching approaches.FindingsThe paper shows that bureaucratic and market logics co-exist and variations in governance practices within and across categories of PSEs. These are reflected in CEO appointments, multiple roles of CEOs, board member appointments, board composition, multiple board membership, board roles and evaluation of board performance. External audits also foster market logic in governance practices. The two competing logics are managed by actors through selective coupling, compromise, decoupling and compartmentalization. Despite competing logics, the bureaucratic logic remains dominant and is largely responsible for variations between the underlying logics and governance practices.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that public-sector reforms in emerging economies (EEs) must account for the fact that governance practices in PSEs are shaped by different institutional logics embedded in socioeconomic, political and organizational contexts and their corresponding management strategies.Originality/valueFew previous studies explicitly report relationships between institutional logics and the governance practices of PSEs in EEs. The current study is one of few empirical studies to connect competing institutional logics and the associated management strategies, as well as governance practices in EEs in the context of public-sector reforms.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-552
Author(s):  
Mengge Li ◽  
Jinxin Yang

Purpose As the primary decision makers, chief executive officers (CEOs) play pivotal roles in firm innovation. However, little is known regarding how CEOs influence the exploitation and exploration paradox. To advance theory and research, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the joint effects of CEO tenure and CEO–chair duality on a firm’s shifting emphasis between exploitative and exploratory innovation. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes the approach of a longitudinal sample of 81 US pharmaceutical firms. Findings As CEOs’ tenure advance, their firms’ percentage of exploitative innovation increases. Furthermore, non-duality (separation of board chair and CEO) further strengthens the positive relationship between CEO tenure and the percentage of exploitative innovation. Research limitations/implications This study integrates upper echelons theory and behavioral agency theory to juxtapose the effects of CEOs on technological innovation. This study extends knowledge of strategic leadership and innovation by showing that CEOs influence the balance between exploitative and exploratory innovation. Furthermore, this study also contributes to the corporate governance literature by demonstrating that monitoring vigilance could inhibit capable CEOs from pursuing more exploratory innovation. Practical implications Boards of directors should allow CEOs to have greater discretion over innovation, and vigilant monitoring and control may force CEOs to focus less on exploration. Originality/value This is one of the few studies that explicitly investigate how CEO influences a firm’s emphasis on exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-10
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Santora

Purpose This paper aims to raise the level of awareness of the critical need to have a chief executive succession plan in nonprofit organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a review of survey literature to determine the degree to which nonprofits plan for chief executive succession. Findings The findings reveal a serious lack of planning for successors in nonprofit organizations. Originality/value This paper underscores the need for a three-pronged approach by nonprofit boards of directors, chief executive officers, and HR departments to address planning for successors to prevent potential chaotic organizational situations and create sustainable nonprofits.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1056-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Vähämaa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the gender of the top executives is associated with the strength of corporate governance mechanisms within a firm. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses panel and instrumental variable regressions on an eight-year sample of the S&P 1,500 firms. Findings The results indicate that firms with female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers have higher quality governance practices. Moreover, female CEOs are documented to have the most significant influence on the governance attributes related to the board of directors and takeover defenses mechanisms. Originality/value Overall, these findings indicate that the gender of the firm’s executives may have important implications for the strength of corporate governance. The paper promotes the importance of the recent national policies in numerous countries on gender quotas at the executive level.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petros Lois ◽  
George Drogalas ◽  
Michail Nerantzidis ◽  
Ifigenia Georgiou ◽  
Eleni Gkampeta

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors associated with the implementation of risk-based internal audit (RBIA). Design/methodology/approach As a first step, a literature review of the relevant literature is performed and five potential factors related to the implementation of RBIA are identified. Based on that, this paper constructs a questionnaire survey sent out to 185 internal auditors, executives and accountants in Greece to receive 90 responses during the period of November 2019–January 2020. Multiple regression analysis is conducted to identify the factors related to the implementation of RBIA. Findings This paper shows that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the implementation of RBIA and: the provision of risk management training, an active audit committee role and the establishment of a formalized risk management system. Practical implications The results have important implications for internal auditors, chief executive officers and accountants who wish to enhance internal audit effectiveness and the accuracy and quality of financial information. Originality/value Empirical studies on the factors related to the implementation of RBIA are rare. This is the first study to create empirical variables based on a thorough review of the relevant literature to empirically investigate the factors that are related to the implementation of RBIA in an emerging economy. By focusing on the Greek context, this study also sheds light to other countries with similar corporate governance systems, thus providing insights to settings where the Type II agency problem exists (La Porta et al., 1999).


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Erik Vahlne ◽  
Mattias Hamberg ◽  
Roger Schweizer

Purpose Accentuating the concept of management under uncertainty in the Uppsala internationalization process model, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model for describing how managers act while keeping uncertainty at an acceptable level. Design/methodology/approach The authors perform two empirical studies to underpin the model they construct. First, a survey of 309 chief executive officers and chief financial officers in large, publicly listed international firms in the Nordic region on managerial risk perceptions and, second, a case study of Volvo Car Corporation and its endeavors when developing new car models for the Chinese market on a new platform – a process characterized by unprecedented uncertainty. Findings The proposed model describing managers’ behavior under uncertainty contains elements such as adjusting/proceeding in small steps, reducing uncertainty via learning, building relationships with important parties in the environment to avoid unforeseen changes and re-dos (i.e. starting all over again) and, perhaps most important, acting despite uncertainty. Originality/value The paper highlights a central, though forgotten, concept of the Uppsala internationalization process model, i.e. management under uncertainty, and, thereby, opens a new path for research on how manager behave under the sway of uncertainty.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 670-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Voss ◽  
Mayoor Mohan

Purpose The purpose of the this paper is to correct a deficiency in the published literature by examining the share price performance of firms that own high-value brands in uptrending, downtrending and sideways markets. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined stock price performance for an index of firms that owned brands in the Interbrand list of the “Best Global Brands” from 2001 through 2009 using the Fama-French method. Findings The authors’ index outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 when the market was up or downtrending, but not when it moved sideways. Research limitations/implications The authors find that an index of firms that own the produced better returns than the Standard & Poor’s 500 market index. Owning highly valued brands may be a marketplace signal to the investing community regarding the firm’s management acumen. Practical implications Owning high-value brands seems to influence share price performance, a metric used to judge chief executive officers. Thus, brand investments align with the shareholders’ interest. The authors help alleviate the perception (Challagalla et al., 2014) that marketing managers make investments on an ad hoc basis. Originality/value For the first time, the authors evaluate the effect of owning one or more of the world’s most valuable brands on the market value of common stock using data from downtrending, uptrending and no-trend periods. This research is also among the first to introduce volatility into the Fama-French method and it is an important explanatory variable. This paper’s approach has interesting comparisons to other papers taking a similar analytical approach.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Rosenberg

Abstract While many firms today routinely publish sustainability reports, work to increase their energy efficiency and market some part of their products or services to customers who are in some way interested in their environmental performance, there still appears to be a general lack of engagement on the issue of the environment from Chief Executive Officers and members of Boards of Directors. Despite years of effort and thousands of scholarly articles, academia has yet to develop a compelling framework with which to engage Senior Management. The article proposes such a framework based on an idea called environmental sensibility and the degree of compliance a firm chooses to pursue.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Nana Yaw Simpson

Purpose – This study aims to examine the structure, attributes, and performance of boards of directors of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) within the broader context of public sector governance. This is informed by the less attention given to the concept among public sector organizations despite efforts to make state enterprises more effective and efficient, especially in developing and middle income countries. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected through questionnaires self-administered in 2010 to all 25 SOEs in Accra, Ghana, out of the 29 nationwide. Some key officials were interviewed and documentary evidence analyzed to achieve triangulation of data and results. Findings – Results show that state-owned enterprises have boards and comply with the minimal governance issues outlined the legal frameworks establishing them. However, they exhibit significant weaknesses in the areas of board performance evaluation, criteria for board appointment, the balance of executive directors and non-executive directors, and other board characteristics, indicating a departure from general practices. Practical implications – Findings suggest the need for a tailored corporate governance framework or code for state-owned enterprises in developing countries. Originality/value – Compared to the literature, this study provides insight on boards from the perspective of state enterprises in ensuring good corporate governance, particularly in the context of a middle income country (Ghana).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Mohammad Ali Fahimi ◽  
Grzegorz Zimon ◽  
Saeid Homayoun

Purpose This study aims to analyze the literature on knowledge management on intellectual capital, social capital and its contribution to Iranian companies’ innovation. Design/methodology/approach To investigate knowledge management’s relationship on intellectual capital, social capital and innovation, using structural equation modeling based on data collected from 205 chief executive officers, production managers and marketing managers of Iranian companies. The research instrument is a standard questionnaire consisting of 109 questions in which 5 of them are demographic questions, 26 questions were asked to reveal the knowledge management process, 40 questions for intellectual capital, 21 for social capital and 17 for innovation. Findings The results show that knowledge management has a positive and significant relationship between intellectual capital and social capital. Knowledge management did not have a significant effect on innovation. However, intellectual capital and social capital have a significant effect on innovation. On the other hand, knowledge management mediated by intellectual capital and social capital has a positive and significant indirect effect on innovation. Originality/value The paper includes the implications for developing knowledge management and intellectual, social capital leading to innovation in manufacturing companies. Knowledge management can improve the innovation performance of a company if it is shared and applied effectively. This study addresses an important subject and the findings may be used by professionals and managers or another person interested in advancing knowledge management that leads to innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Rincon-Roldan ◽  
Alvaro Lopez-Cabrales

PurposeThe aim of this study was to analyse the influence of different employment relationships (ERs) on the sustainability results of cooperatives. The authors approached the type of ER comparing the inducements offered by the firm with the contributions that the manager expects from employees. In this way, the authors study how the orientation toward the employment relationship influences the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the firm.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents a theoretical and empirical research model about the relationship between ERs and sustainability. The necessary information was obtained through a questionnaire that was completed by the human resource (HR) managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) of 124 cooperative companies, and structural equation modelling was applied to evaluate the relationships between the proposed constructs, using the partial least squares technique (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe obtained results suggest that mutual investment and overinvestment ERs favour economic, social and environmental sustainability, whereas quasi spot contract and underinvestment ERs have a negative influence on all three types of sustainability. Therefore, it is confirmed that the type of ER adopted can condition the sustainability of the company, either favouring or worsening it.Originality/valueThis work contributes to covering the lack of studies about which ERs impact the sustainability of organisations, and it provides information on the role of ERs in the search for a more sustainable organisation, demonstrating that the type of employment relationship developed by the firm has a relevant impact on its sustainability.


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