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    Experiences of women of colour who were third culture kids or internationally mobile youth : an exploratory study of implications for global leadership development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Chatiya Nantham, Rhema Roja
    Global leadership development programmes (GLDPs) are typically focussed on competency development and teaching culturally appropriate etiquette, but, adapting to new contexts often involves challenges to people’s sense of self, addressing an area which is known as identity work. Learning from people who encountered such challenges early in life could assist in developing global leaders by offering insights into the kinds of identity work strategies needed to deal with their offshore posting, and to ensure that identity work processes are designed into such programmes. To address these aims, this study draws on the lived experiences of nine women of colour who lived outside their home country as children or adolescents, a cohort known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), to identify various identity-related issues they encountered and the lessons these experiences offer for global leadership development. As such, this interdisciplinary study draws on and contributes to literatures related to TCKs and Adult TCKs (ATCKs), global leadership development, and identity work for leadership development. This qualitative study comprised a series of workshops designed specifically to foster identity work amongst the participants. The data was collected via virtual focus group discussions. The study adopted a combination of participatory and emancipatory action research approaches, underpinned by a social constructionist epistemology and is theoretically informed by Critical Race Feminism, anti-racist feminisms, and identity theory as key influences. These decisions reflect the aim of centring attention on a cohort routinely understudied in the TCK, global leadership development and leadership development literatures, namely women of colour. The findings were thematically analysed via an inductive approach to identify the experiences and identity work strategies of participants as TCKs in response to the racist-sexist prejudices they encountered, their implicit leadership theories and their approach to leadership, showing how the focus group process was itself a vehicle for doing identity work in relationship to their leader identities. I identify the lessons that can be drawn from TCKs, and from the methods used in this study, to inform the deployment of identity work in GLDPs. From these findings, I develop frameworks explaining the identity work processes experienced by TCKs and how they internalised their leadership identity via the methods used in my study and build models for GLDPs from these insights.
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    Aligning interests : the impact of CEO compensation schemes on corporate executive behaviour and the cost of debt : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Manu O'uiha, Sulueti Tupoutu'a Lawai
    A key element of corporate governance is executive compensation. This study examines the effectiveness of two compensation methods for chief executives: inside debt and vesting equity. In essay one, inside debt aligns management incentives with inside bondholder incentives (since they both hold debt), resulting in less risky corporate policies and reducing corporate risk-taking. This study shows empirically that inside debt is associated with less problematic situations (i.e., small earnings declines), less real activity spending cuts (such as marketing and R&D research), and lower yield spreads on corporate bonds. In essay two, company executives and bond investors are concerned about short-term prices. When executives’ compensation includes vesting equity, their interests are aligned. In this study, vesting equity reduces the cost of debt. Among the two components of vesting equity, the option lowers costs of debt, while stock keep costs high. The results suggest investors view vesting options as the best way to align executives’ and bondholders’ interests. Vesting equity may also reduce risk-taking activities, affecting bond prices. In summary, the results show that bondholders are aware of the risk-taking and risk-avoidance incentives created by executive compensation schemes. Inside debt and vesting equity strengthen and align executive interests with those of inside and external bondholders.
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    Essays on corporate governance in Chinese listed firms : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Manawatu campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Wang, Lu
    This thesis consists of three essays. In the first essay, we investigate government resource allocation through related-party transactions (RPTs) using hand-collected data of RPTs between non-corporate government agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. It shows that more resources are allocated to SOEs with a politically connected chairman of the board, small SOEs and SOEs located in less-developed regions. The results indicate that Chinese governments allocate more resources through RPTs to SOEs with stronger political incentives and promote the new wave of Chinese SOE reform. However, in SOEs with a politically connected chairman, resources obtained through RPTs are only associated with increased investment expenditure and not with SOEs’ labour intensity. This essay explores a unique channel of government resource allocation among SOEs and provides evidence to the critical view of government intervention. The second essay investigates the effects of top executives’ reputation concern on earnings quality in China’s listed SOEs. Existing studies on executive reputation mainly focus on executives in a competitive executive labour market. Therefore, it is of great interest to examine whether reputation concern matters to top executives in SOEs, whose career development heavily depends on the preference of government bureaucrats. We define chairpersons with concurrent positions in listed SOEs’ shareholding firms as “spotlight” executives that may receive more external attention. The evidence shows that “spotlight” executives positively influence the earnings quality of SOEs measured by earnings management via RPTs. Such a positive influence is achieved through the intensive external attention paid to those executives in the spotlight. However, the positive reputation effect becomes insignificant when the political objectives of SOEs are pronounced. Further evidence shows that the positive impact of “spotlight” executives on earnings quality is shaped by various characteristics of SOEs, such as different types of state control, the industry sectors SOEs come from, firm performance, the timing of seasoned equity offerings external monitoring. Essay three studies whether and if so, how managerial efficiency influences stock price crash risk in China’s listed firms. The evidence suggests that executives with better efficiency can reduce stock price crash risk, and the beneficial effect is achieved through improved firm information transparency and lower excessive risk-taking. Further, the beneficial impact of managerial efficiency on crash risk is more pronounced in SOEs, firms located in less developed regions and firms that pay higher compensation to managers. This essay sheds light on the influence of managerial ability in emerging markets with weak institutions, such as China. Evidence from the three essays is robust after considering endogeneity issues. The three essays provide important policy implications. First, imposing government intervention on SOEs does not lead to efficient usage of government resources. Second, the spotlight is a powerful mechanism to discipline managerial behaviour in SOEs. In addition, free SOEs from political interference tends to facilitate the monitoring of the spotlight. Third, it is essential for firms in emerging markets, especially SOEs, to adopt methods of evaluating managerial efficiency and select managers that provide better efficiency, as they can not only utilize company resources and produce outputs more efficiently, but also improve firm transparency, reduce excessive risk-taking, and thus reduce stock price crash risk.
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    Essays on managerial foreign experience and corporate behaviours in China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Sun, Zixiong
    Managerial foreign experience is a type of resource which allows managers to think globally and act locally. This thesis contributes to the literature on how foreign experienced managers impact corporate behaviour in China, the world’s largest emerging market. The first essay examines how managers with foreign experience influence corporate risk-taking. I find that foreign experienced managers are positively associated with corporate risk-taking. This relationship only robustly exists among private firms rather than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The excess risk-taking through foreign experienced managers is positively related to Tobin’s Q, indicating that foreign experienced managers increase firm value through value-enhancing projects, which benefits shareholders. The second essay concentrates on the relationship between managerial foreign experience and earnings quality. I find that foreign experienced managers improve corporate earnings quality, and this improvement is more pronounced in private firms. Moreover, I document that the improved earnings quality is an important mechanism for which foreign experienced managers increase stock returns and decrease agency costs. The third essay in the thesis investigates the relationship between foreign experienced managers and corporate labour investment. I find foreign experienced managers are more likely to recruit and retain high skilled employees, which in turn increases labour cost for firms in total. The positive relationship between managerial foreign experience and labour cost is significant in both SOEs and private firms. Foreign experienced managers may focus on employees’ well-being to complete political goals in SOEs while they are more likely to retain and attract high skilled employees to benefit shareholders’ value in private firms. I further document that the increased labour costs through managerial foreign experience can influence firm value positively. However, it also increases the labour stickiness cost. Overall, this thesis documents the benefits and costs of hiring foreign experienced managers in firms.
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    Managing and leading social workers when you are not one yourself : opportunities and challenges in non-government organisations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Cocker, Suzanne
    Social service management has regularly undergone transformation while adapting to an ever-changing social and political climate. Managerialism and New Public Management has redirected social service management expectations, resulting in the prevalence of employing non-clinical managers. This study uncovered the transferable skills held by managers with qualifications external to social work, and discussed what additional skills are considered required in order to succeed in their role as manager. A qualitative research design was utilised, underpinned by subjective ontology and an interpretivist approach, in order to uncover and highlight the participant voice. Semi- structured interviews gave room for topics to be proposed, and provided participants with the ability to share their experiences. The seven key themes which emerged from this study were management journey, external influences, internal influences, social work knowledge and interest, transferable skills, advice for future managers, and unanticipated findings. The participant group were found to be managers with an eclectic range of experiences, qualifications and knowledge crucial to the survival of social service organisations in the present day. This study uncovered the participant’s steadfast values and unwavering passion, and demonstrated their fierce commitment to empowering their staff, clients and communities.
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    Essays on the determinant and consequence of tournament incentives : evidence from China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Sun, Li
    This research investigates the determinant and consequence of tournament incentives using data of publicly listed Chinese firms. Understanding the role of the tournament incentive and its implications is crucial, since it affects firms’ profitability and, consequently, shareholders’ wealth. Furthermore, whether tournament incentives function as an effective governance tools has remained under-explored in emerging markets. Our study sheds new light on the use of tournament incentives in the Chinese market. This study is organized into three essays: (i) a survey of the existing literature on tournament incentives in the accounting and finance area; (ii) the relation between business strategy and tournament incentives; and, finally, (iii) the effect of tournament incentives on stock price crash risk. Essay One synthesizes the theoretical underpinnings of tournament models, reviews the extant empirical literature on the determinants and consequences of tournament incentives, critiques the findings, and offers suggestions for future research. We synthesize findings from 63 empirical papers and find that several firm-level fundamental and corporate governance variables affect the structure of corporate tournaments. Our review of the consequences of tournament structure reveals that tournaments affect financial reporting and auditing as well as firm-level operational and capital market-based outcomes. This review reveals that the existing accounting and finance literature lacks a strong justification for why one theory, rather than another, is favoured. Moreover, based on potential problems that may exist in empirical models, this review also offers some methodological implications for empirical tournament studies. In Essay Two, we investigate the association between business strategy and firm-level tournament incentives in China, and find that business strategy is positively associated with firm-level tournament incentives, as proxied by pay differences among senior executives. We further explore the association between tournament incentives and future firm performance, conditional on various business strategies. We find some evidence that the larger tournament incentives offered by firms following innovative strategies are associated with better operating performance. We also find that the positive relationship between business strategy and tournament incentives is manifested only for local, but not central, state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, no differential evidence is found using firm performance analysis. Our study fills a gap in the existing tournament literature by incorporating business strategy as a critical determinant of the tournament incentives in the more cash-compensation setting of China. Finally, in Essay Three, we investigate the association between tournament incentives and firms’ stock price crash risk in China. We explore the Chinese setting, where a cash-based compensation system is the primary compensation scheme, as opposed to the equity-based incentive schemes commonly found in the U.S. We provide robust evidence that promotion-based tournament incentives, proxied by compensation differences among top executives, are negatively and significantly associated with firms’ stock price crash risk. We also find that conditional conservatism mediates the negative association between tournament incentives and price crash. Finally, we find that the negative relationship between tournament incentives and price crash is significant for the non-state-owned enterprises only. The findings advance our understanding regarding the corporate governance role of tournament incentives in protecting shareholders’ wealth, since the occurrence of stock price crash risk destroys shareholder value.
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    Management decision making in the age of big data : an exploration of the roles of analytics and human judgment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Gressel, Simone
    This thesis explores the effects of data analytics and human judgment on management decision making in an increasingly data-driven environment. In recent years, the topics of big data and advanced analytics have gained traction and wide-spread interest among practitioners and academics. Today, big data is considered a buzzword by some and an essential prerequisite for future business success by others. Recent research highlights the potential of big data analytics for decision making, but also points out critical challenges and risks. The aim of this research is to take an in-depth look at management decision making by using qualitative case studies and critical incidents to carefully examine managers' decision-making processes. This exploration evolves around the two main research questions: i) How do managers perceive the role of advanced analytics and big data in the decision-making process? ii) How do managers perceive the alignment of advanced analytics and big data with more traditional decision-making approaches such as human judgment? The content and thematic analyses of data from 25 semi-structured interviews with managers, executives, and business analysts from nine organizations provided several key insights. Managers were found to rely on data and human judgment in their decision making to varying extents and in different roles. The processes followed by the decision makers depended on the decisions at hand, the managers’ characteristics and preferences, as well as environmental factors. The findings empirically support the development of an ecological systems framework, which provides a holistic picture of managerial decision making in the age of big data. The study contributes by applying the dual process theory to the context of data-driven decision making. Practical implications for organizations are derived from the findings and identify organizational considerations and prerequisites. The influence of the managers’ environments on decision making emphasizes the organizations’ need to utilize a holistic approach when adopting a data-driven decision-making culture.
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    How do Chinese managers perceive management culture in New Zealand : 152.801 (90 credits) thesis presented for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2019) Zhao, Boxiong
    Previous studies have explored the impact of Chinese and Western cultures on management. Although there have been cross-cultural management studies about Chinese management practices, research on Chinese managers in the context of New Zealand is still largely underdeveloped. This exploratory study focuses on Chinese managers working in the New Zealand context to understand the impact of cultural differences and challenges. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to explore what Chinese managers do in New Zealand culture. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Chinese managers working in New Zealand. The topic analysis technique is used to analyze the data. Therefore, this study will enable New Zealand Chinese to understand the cultural management model of New Zealand culture. Then, by understanding cultural differences and characteristics, it may be helpful for Chinese managers to understand the New Zealand context.
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    Achieving holistic sustainability in Chinese and New Zealand business partnerships : an integrative approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Chen, Michelle Sitong
    Tensions in sustainability are a relatively new area and largely unexplored empirically between firms in collaborative business partnerships, particularly drawing from paradox theory and organisational ambidexterity theory. If these tensions cannot be understood and addressed adequately, it will not only have negative impacts on individuals’ interests, but also on the development of organisations and ultimately the prosperity of the society. Hence, this study examines empirically how tensions in addressing divergent sustainability issues arise, and are perceived and managed between Chinese and New Zealand firms in business partnerships. Guided by an interpretivist philosophy, this research adopts a qualitative and abductive approach as the preferred research method. In doing so, 33 in-depth individual interviews alongside one informal group discussion were carried out at 16 relatively large Chinese and NZ firms known for their commitment to sustainability that are in business partnerships. This thesis includes three empirical chapters. The first findings chapter identifies tensions in sustainability between Chinese and New Zealand firms and discovers the reasons for them. The findings reveal that the Chinese and New Zealand firms in business partnership are faced with complex and multiple sustainability tensions which are thus more difficult and challenging for them to address simultaneously. This chapter also shows that the tensions are caused by an integration of multiple reasons from individual, organisational and national levels. The second findings chapter explores how managers make sense of these tensions. The results delineate four kinds of managerial logic – paradoxical, contradictory, business and defensive – which are applied to make sense of different kinds of tensions. In contrast to prior studies, the findings reveal that paradoxical logic is the most common logic adopted by the managers at Chinese and NZ companies in business partnerships; as the other types – contradictory, business and defensive logic – are not commonly used. The third findings chapter investigates the strategies that Chinese and NZ firms adopted to manage the tensions in their business partnerships. The findings show two main approaches: trade-off and integrative. This research highlights that working through sustainability tensions using integrative approaches can bring proactive outcomes which will help these companies to advance their sustainability practice through inter-organisational learning, to enhance their mutual understanding and to strengthen their business partnerships over time, thus achieving holistic sustainability. This research contributes to scholarly understanding of tensions in sustainability between firms in collaborative business partnerships in relation to the nature of the tensions, reasons for the tensions, managerial sensemaking of tensions and the strategies for managing the tensions. This also adds value to paradox theory and organisational ambidexterity theory including structural and contextual ambidexterity, and their theoretical and practical implications for tensions in sustainability research.
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    Discrimination or diversity? A balanced score card review of perceptions of gender quotas : prepared in partial fulfilment of a Master of Business Studies, Massey University (Albany)
    (Massey University, 2019) Burrell, Erin Kathleen
    Creating an economy where gender equality is at the forefront could be claimed to be beneficial to most, if not all, citizens and countries. Recent mandates of gender reporting at the Director and Officer levels have created a dichotomous environment in New Zealand. Taking learnings from other countries experiences with quotas, with a particular focus on Norway, adds insight into what could happen if implementation were to occur. Using qualitative interviews across a diverse group of participants, this study investigates current perspectives and implications of gender quotas. Understanding the role of the board to govern and design organisational strategy, the Balanced Score Card was selected as a clear instrument for analysis and recommendations. This exploration showcases the complexity of equity strategy as a component of board construction and the realisation that gender alone will not deliver a diverse board of directors. Empowered by the BSC structure, this effort delivers a recommendation for driving organisational change through diversity programming and contributes to academic discourse through a business outcome focused approach to qualitative research. Findings display that social policy does have a place in the boardroom, but that efforts must be measured and documented consistently over time, a process that is lacking in many NZ firms. Further, outcomes from the study show that quotas are not preferred as a tool for gender equity with just 27.78% of participants supporting the concept. This study makes a three-fold contribution: first, it investigates a broader range of participants than does existing NZ work, second, it leverages the Balanced Score Card for analysis to support real-time application of findings by practitioners outside of the academic sphere, and third, it introduces gender diversity as an element of gender quotas.