Reflecting on the changing landscape of shareholder activism in South Africa

IF 1.2 4区管理学 Q3 ECONOMICS

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences Pub Date : 2021-01-25 DOI:10.4102/SAJEMS.V24I1.3711

Nadia Mans-Kemp, Marilee van Zyl

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Background: Investors around the globe are increasingly focusing on investing in a responsible manner by accounting for environmental, social and corporate governance aspects alongside financial performance Shareholder activism is a prevalent responsible investment strategy that is gradually gaining traction among South African investors Aim: The primary objective was to gauge the views of selected local institutional investors on the nature of shareholder activism endeavours in South Africa The secondary objective was to offer suggestions on the way forward for shareholder activism considering rapid technological development and the COVID-19 pandemic Setting: South Africa offers a well-developed framework for responsible investors Given their substantial shareholding, institutional investors in particular have considerable power to influence the practices and policies of investee companies Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 representatives of local institutional investor organisations Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the primary data Results: Interviewees mostly engaged in private with investee companies on corporate governance issues They explained that more information is required to meaningfully engage on social and environmental considerations Participants indicated that they consider and employ public activism mechanisms if private engagements are deemed unsuccessful Conclusion: Technology will play an increasingly important role to enhance shareholder activism in future, but also offers various challenges Although social media might be a valuable avenue to disclose information, it should be cautiously managed Selective engagement details could be published on institutional investors’ and companies’ websites to enhance transparency regarding the nature and outcomes of engagements Virtual and hybrid annual general meetings are likely to enable more shareholders to become active owners in future © 2021 The Authors Licensee: AOSIS

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反思南非股东维权主义的变化

背景:全球投资者越来越关注通过考虑环境、社会和公司治理方面以及财务业绩，以负责任的方式进行投资。股东行动主义是一种普遍的负责任投资策略，正逐渐受到南非投资者的青睐。主要目标是评估选定的当地机构投资者对南非股东维权活动性质的看法。次要目标是考虑到快速的技术发展和COVID-19大流行背景，就股东维权活动的前进方向提出建议:南非为负责任的投资者提供了一个完善的框架。由于机构投资者持有大量股份，他们尤其具有相当大的权力，可以影响被投资公司的做法和政策。方法:对13名当地机构投资者组织的代表进行了半结构化访谈，进行了主题分析，以分析主要数据。受访者大多就公司治理问题与被投资公司进行私人接触，他们解释说，需要更多的信息来有意地参与社会和环境方面的考虑。参与者表示，如果私人接触被认为不成功，他们会考虑并采用公共行动主义机制。未来，技术将在增强股东行动主义方面发挥越来越重要的作用，但也会带来各种挑战。尽管社交媒体可能是披露信息的宝贵途径，可在机构投资者和公司网站上公布选择性审计细节，以提高审计性质和结果的透明度。虚拟和混合式年度股东大会可能使更多股东在未来成为积极的所有者©2021作者被许可方:AOSIS

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences Multiple-

CiteScore

2.30

自引率

9.10%

发文量

审稿时长

52 weeks

期刊介绍： The South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS) is a leading South African-based publication for interdisciplinary research in the economic and management sciences. The journal publishes and disseminates high-quality academic articles that contribute to the better understanding of the interaction between economic, environmental and social perspectives as applicable to the broader management sciences in an African environment. The editorial board therefore invites authors to submit their research from areas such as economics, finance, accounting, human capital, marketing and other related disciplines that break down common intellectual silos and prepares a new path for debate on the operation and development of sustainable markets and organisations as relevant to the broader African context.