Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Private sector stakeholders'

The purpose of this dissertation is the delineation of a new approach, or, more precisely, a new â roleâ and â methodological system,â for those persons engaged in building and managing multi-actor structures, or â networks,â for the purpose of policy implementation. As policy formulation and implementation can be viewed increasingly as taking place inter-organizationally, and consisting of individuals, special-interest groups, public organizations, private organizations, non-profits, etc., none of whom have the individual power to autonomously determine the strategies and actions of all the other actors, policy processes can no longer be viewed as the implementation of ex ante formulated goals, but instead must be seen as an interaction process in which actors exchange information about problems, preferences and means, and trade-off goals and resources. That is, the context of â getting things doneâ in the public sector is changing from a singular organizational context to a multiple-organization network context. Managerially, we must respond accordingly. While there has been an increasing recognition in the literatures of at least three distinct fields of enquiry [political science, organization theory, and policy science] that such networks are becoming the â realityâ of daily operation, much less has been written attempting to aid the acting administrator to function successfully within this new setting. Even less has been written concerning how to actually build and use a network setting to oneâ s advantage in an implementation endeavor. We are left in need of a new way to successfully approach implementation through complex multi-actor settings. As it becomes increasingly difficult to administer policy implementation through a single, public organization, the need for new tools and understanding that will enable us to achieve public ends in such complex settings becomes apparent. Such an approach must work to successfully accommodate the increased role of extra-organizational actors, a new role of the administrator as â network facilitator,â and still afford the ability to plan for and carry out project implementation. Because the invention of such an approach will require the accommodation of a different view of the administrative world (i.e. a more dynamic context, ephemeral definitions, new roles and responsibilities, and a new method to approaching work life), its development cannot constitute a straightforward reshuffling of the boxes of the administrative process, or the simple adoption of some new buzzwords. It demands, instead, that we begin by asking some fundamental ontological (what is reality) and epistemological (how can we know it) questions. It is after addressing these fundamental concerns that this volume will work to build a new approach to functioning proactively in a network setting. Following a discussion on what the role of â network facilitatorâ means in relation to current understanding of public management, this treatise will describe a new methodological system for use by the administrator playing such a role. The â methodological systemâ for building implementation networks that is advocated here is composed of three overlapping methodologies: 1) â Contextual Assessmentâ - Mapping a Networkâ s Political-Economy; 2) â Stakeholder Analysis & Managementâ â Understanding Who Should be at the Table and Furthering the Conditions for Cooperation; and, 3) â Joint Visioningâ â The Facilitation of Project Planning in a Network Setting. In the chapter on â contextual assessment,â the reader will be introduced to a method that uses the political economy framework of Wamsley and Zald to derive an interview instrument for use by a recently appointed network facilitator (somebody appointed the responsibility of â getting something doneâ cross-organizationally). Combining the political economic framework with other standard qualitative methods, including gaining entrance, selecting interview type, snowballing, and quota sampling, one should be able to assess the existing political and economic environment surrounding a potential implementation network and, further, begin to select from that environment a first set of stakeholders in the budding implementation network. This method will result in a â conceptual mappingâ of the environment from which one may begin to select potential resources to build an implementation network. Following that, the reader will be introduced to two methods, that when used together, will allow for the analysis, categorization, and selection of network stakeholders. Taken together, these methods can be referred to as â stakeholder analysis.â It is the successful selection and management of these stakeholders that will result in the formation of a young implementation network. Finally, the reader will be introduced to a method of â joint-visioning,â a process for working with a set of stakeholders to create a shared understanding of the social/organizational and technical/functional systems required for a new implementation network to function. While the theoretical conception here of joint-visioning is new, the techniques suggested to support this method are probably the least original of the techniques associated with the three methods introduced in this volume (in that they are based on recognized methods of group facilitation). The joint-visioning method proposed here is probably most remarkable for what it is not, corporate strategic planning. A discussion about the problems of adopting corporate strategic planning in the public sector will begin this section, followed by a discussion of why something else, like joint visioning, is probably more appropriate. Each methodology has been constructed from the ground up by appropriating parts of different methodologies that have been advocated in different areas of application. Specifically, methods, approaches, and understandings have been appropriated from the literatures of corporate management, stakeholder analysis, action research, political economy, community facilitation, knowledge engineering and management, and strategic planning. These methods have been combined and modified to better serve as tools for network establishment and management. This methodological system has been developed as much from experience as from scholarly analysis. Accordingly, a case study, one that has directly led to the development of many concepts in this system, will be discussed and used for â real-worldâ elaboration of the concepts described. Specifically, each of these methods will be accompanied by an in-depth discussion on how it was applied in the â Travel Shenandoahâ case study. Benefits, as well as problems with the proposed methods will be highlighted. Where appropriate, possible modifications to a method will be suggested.
Ph. D.

The topic of sustainability has never been as relevant as it is today. Most recently, we have been following climate activists strike worldwide, the U.S. withdraw from the Paris Agreement and we have seen the world elite leave climate meetings without agreements. In 2015, to cope with the sustainability issues, the UN adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for global actions to protect the planet and assure a better future for humanity. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs are set to ensure social, economic, and environmental progress at a global level. For a worldwide advance in progress has the private sector a leading role, and to ensure an effective framework of goals and a balance between the three dimensions are the standards adopted in dialogue with the private sector. The adoption of agendas and regulations has stressed sustainability reporting to become an important business issue for the last two decades. Although sustainability reporting emerged quite recently, the topic has been well researched. Recent research has been focusing on shareholder value and sustainability reporting. However, there is a lack of research focusing on the other stakeholder groups. This study intends to investigate what internal stakeholders of an organization in the private sector consider as important reporting activities following the Global Reporting Standards (GRI). This study is written on commission, hence does the sample consist of the commissioner’s employees. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a survey was conducted and distributed among the internal stakeholders of the organization. The results of the study found the social sustainability activities to be the most important ones to report, followed by the environmental sustainability activities and the economic sustainability activities. Any possible differences between different subgroups of the population (gender, age, employment, and position at work) were tested by establishing two-sample t-tests and a one-way Analysis of Variance. The gender-, age- and position at work variable showed significance, rejecting the null hypothesis that the mean responses are equal.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
The provision of infrastructure in developing countries is traditionally a preserve of government discharged through state-owned monopolies. This arrangement enables the government to charge tariffs below cost recovery as a way of protecting consumers. Unfortunately, the state utilities are generally run inefficiently, relying on the public budget for both capital and operational expenditure. Private sector players have gradually started to engage in the provision of infrastructure in recent years. Working alone or in co-operation with government, these players have offered a viable alternative for securing financial resources by using well-structured project finance structures and expertise for efficient delivery of services, such as roads, water, electricity and hospitals. The private sector participation has resulted in fiscal relief as funding sources are broadened to include domestic and offshore capital markets. It has also been accompanied by necessary sector reforms, such as legislative amendments to protect private property, allowing private players to invest in the respective infrastructure domains. Consumers‟ perceptions have been mixed, largely due to resultant higher costs of services. In Tanzania, the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO), a vertically-integrated state monopoly, is responsible for generation, transmission, distribution and retailing of electricity. As sole provider, TANESCO has woefully failed to serve the estimated demand of about 1 200MW. Lack of adequate funding for new capital investment and maintenance of the existing network has seriously curtailed output to just over 500MW – less than half of installed capacity. This situation has been compounded by drought on the predominantly hydro-based generation. Transmission losses have also worsened electricity delivery. The result is that only 14 percent of the urban and about two percent of the rural population had electricity access as at 2010. Sector reforms introduced in the 1990s allowed independent power producers (IPPs) to set up fuel and gas-fired generation facilities and selling output to TANESCO under Power Purchase Agreements. Worsening electricity shortages have forced the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to engage more IPPs on an emergency basis at very exorbitant feed-in tariffs. Other smaller-scale private generators have also entered the deregulated generation sector using the regulatory framework set up by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA). Various generation technologies are used and off-grid installations have enabled potential consumers beyond the national grid to have access. This study presents perceptions on challenges faced by private sector investors and financiers in participating in electricity generation. The findings highlight the apparent lack of appetite by financiers to underwrite long-term infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the capital markets are not developed sufficiently to meet the capital needs of private investors who see opportunity in the largely unserved electricity market. The results of the study help to show that the challenges of providing sufficient and affordable electricity in Tanzania cannot be addressed within the context of current macro-environmental circumstances. Specific policy guidelines are required to enhance the level of development of the financial market, facilitate private sector access to the required debt capital, and improve the tariff structure to attract investments in the electricity generation segment.

It is a common misconception that the cross-sector partnership between private companies and environmental NGOs purely benefit financing and image possibilities. However, suppositions like these are worryingly out-of-date and do no longer correspond to the actual make-up, ambitions, effort, and functionings of said partnerships. Most companies use a concept called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when describing their sustainability work, often including partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The term was coined at a time when sustainability work was less refined than what we see today, and while societal awareness and industrial appreciation for the importance of environmental agendas has developed, the term CSR and its definition has remained the same. This study interviewed three environmental NGOs and four private companies in Sweden in order to investigate the structure and outcomes of their current partnerships with the respective actor. The findings underline the need for an updated conceptual definition, that facilitates cross-sector partnership development parallel to societal development rather than to hold it back. With environmental threats winning the attention of both private and public actors in local as well as global settings, the issue of this conceptual misalignment and possible snag in efficiency that it may pose, becomes highly relevant.

Over the past decades the traditional development agenda of a donor-beneficiary model has been replaced by one builton partnerships with mutual benefits. In recent years the paradigms of ‘aid effectiveness’ and ‘developmenteffectiveness’, characterized by a set of new and emerging actors that play an important role in development and arenewed focus on economic growth, have emerged. One of the actors that is becoming more important is the privatesector, as they increasingly have the opportunity to take on a new profound role as development driver. While there hasbeen a trend of decreasing government spending for development aid, the private sector has considerable financial assetsat their disposal. However, the financial contribution of the private sector in sectors related to the SustainableDevelopment Goals remains low. Public-private partnerships are seen as a way that can attract the private sector indoing investments in sustainable development. Especially for global agri-food chains, partnerships have the ambitionto bring about sustainable change. In order to attract the private sector in such collaborations, an understanding of theirinformation needs regarding public-private partnerships and sustainability is necessary. The focus of this research wasto explain those information needs. As part of a case study research, interviews with the private sector were conducted.To gain additional insights, web testing tasks were conducted with the same interviewees. It is found that p the two mainreasons to join in a partnership for the private partners of this case study are because it is a platform for collaborationand knowledge exchange. Understanding these motivations helps to articulate a message that is seen as valuable. Next,with regard to sustainability interests, these mainly fall under the three pillars of sustainability – economic,environmental, social – but it was also found that the companies can use information on traceability and connectingtheir work to the Sustainable Development Goals as ways to communicate about their sustainability efforts. Relatingthis to the findings on information needs and how to communicate about such topics, the main findings suggest that theinformation should be concrete, result-oriented and proof of impact. In general, the information needs of the privatesector all to less or more extent have to do with continuation of the business, while also interest is shown for makingsustainability a viable business case and being a thought leader on sustainability topics. These findings are parallel tothe dominant paradigms of development effectiveness and aid effectiveness that continue to shape the agenda ondevelopment collaboration.

I cannot select the correct organization/department for my supervisor and evaluator as both ar connected to SLU, not UU.

For Cecilia: Department of Forest Products at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

For Per: Department of Economics; Rural Entrepreneurship at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Implementing policy change is notoriously difficult, often marred by chronic delays or outright failure to achieve its originally desired mandate. This challenge drew the attention of many scholars who, over the years, published many studies attempting to describe and analyse what the policy change process looks like and most notably, strategies on how to better manage it. However, most of these studies tacitly committed themselves to strategic issues of managing change from a policy-maker s perspective, with very little consideration of what the change process actually looks and feels like from the perspective of the change recipients. Yet, it goes without saying that responses of these change recipients directly affect the outcomes of the change process. This study sought to address this gap in literature by exploring South Africa s prevailing National Healthcare Insurance (NHI) policy reform. Using a qualitative design and theoretical insights from political sciences, social sciences and organisational studies, the study analysed how the relevant stakeholders in the private healthcare industry were variously thinking about and responding to the proposed reforms. The findings of the study emphasised the critical role of temporally sequenced historical events in shaping an industry and influencing its change orientation. The study also weighed in on scholarly debates that challenged general characterisation of any recipients contradictory opinions as resistance to change . In this study, the stakeholders seemingly antagonistic attitudes and responses to the NHI policy were not necessarily a contestation against change in itself. Instead, the conflict was over compatibility with the policy s implicit secondary goals. This contestation evoked opinions and responses so strong that it overshadowed the stakeholders initial felt need for change. From this perspective, this research argued for a distinction to be drawn between diagnostic congruence and goal congruence. It further proposed that paying diligent attention to formulating an accurate diagnosis of the problems to be addressed through policy change could attenuate haggling and achieve far better results than finding the best way to attain an agreed upon goal across all relevant stakeholders.
Mini-disseration (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
nk2016
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

This thesis analyses how societal adaptation processes in public and private sectors at the regional to local level in Sweden are enacted. The thesis pays particular attention to critical factors that constrain or enable adaptation by focussing on: who are the stakeholders, how do different stakeholders perceive their capacity to adapt, and the role of stakeholder interaction in facilitating adaptation processes A combination of two analytical perspectives is used where one is based on key concepts within adaptation literature, and the other draws on boundary crossing and transdisciplinary knowledge production (stakeholders, adaptive capacity, and science-based stakeholder dialogues). The study is conducted within the scope of two overall case studies of local adaptation processes within an urban region, and a land-use based sector, the private forestry sector. The cases are setting the scene for the collection of empirical material which is achieved through qualitative methods, primarily focus groups discussions with local and regional, public and private stakeholders with an interest in, and responsibility for adaptation. The focus groups meetings are organized as a series of meetings to which different participatory techniques are applied. The study also builds on a comprehensive stakeholder mapping. First, the results suggest a systematic method for identifying stakeholders in adaptation research, policy, and planning applicable in both sectors and regions that combines top-down knowledge with experience and knowledge based on bottom-up processes. Second, the analysis of perceived adaptive capacities reveal several facilitating and constraining factors that relates both to the characteristics of climate risks, experience of climate variability and extreme weather events, and responsibility- and decision-making structures. Third, the analysis of the interaction between local experts and scientists show that there is potential for the boundary spanning function of science-based stakeholder dialogues in facilitating adaptation through stimulating questions and sharing different knowledge bases and experiences among the participants. However further attention needs to be taken to the institutional environment and the role of so called anchoring devices that help local experts to contextualise, discus and thus anchor scientific knowledge in their own decision-making context. In conclusion, there are both commonalities between adaptation processes in the two case studies and some marked differences, e.g., regarding the concept of adaptation, what type of adaptation actions that are identified, the perceived opportunities for adaptation and degree of complexity.
Denna avhandling analyserar hur klimatanpassningsprocesser inom privata och offentliga sektorer på regional till lokal nivå i Sverige initieras, utvecklas och genomförs. Avhandlingen ägnar särskild uppmärksamhet åt identifiering av vilka intressenter (”stakeholders”) som är involverade i att underlätta och genomföra anpassning, uppfattningar om anpassningsförmåga samt vilken roll interaktion mellan olika intressenter kan ha för att underlätta anpassning. En kombination av två analytiska perspektiv används som bygger på tidigare forskning om klimatanpassningsprocesser samt transdisciplinär kunskapsproduktion. Studien genomförs inom ramen för två övergripande fallstudier av anpassningsprocesser i en urban region samt den privata skogssektorn. Fallstudierna utgör grunden för insamlingen av det empiriska materialet som bygger på kvalitativa metoder. Den främsta metoden är fokusgruppsdiskussioner med lokala och regionala, privata och offentliga aktörer med intresse av, eller ansvar för klimatanpassning. Fokusgrupperna organiseras som en serie möten där olika deltagandetekniker tillämpas. Studien bygger också på en omfattande intressentkartläggning. I avhandlingen utvecklas och ges förslag på en stegvis metod för att identifiera intressenter för anpassningsprocesser som kan användas inom forskning och praktik. Studien analyserar också hur olika intressentgrupper upplever förmågan att hantera klimatförändringar. Ett antal möjliggörande och begränsande faktorer identifieras så som karaktären på de upplevda klimatriskerna, erfarenhet av klimatvariationer och extrema väderhändelser, samt ansvar- och beslutsstrukturer. Slutligen, analyseras om och i så fall hur interaktionen mellan lokala experter och forskare som deltar i intressantdialoger (”science-based stakeholder dialogues”) kan underlätta anpassning. Resultaten visar att det finns potential genom att deltagarna ges möjlighet att ställa frågor tillvarandra och dela med sig av sina olika kunskapsbaser och erfarenheter, samt utforska olika anpassningsalternativ. Däremot behövs vidare studier för att undersöka betydelsen av det institutionella sammanhanget samt hur olika verktyg (”anchoring devices”) kan bidra när det gäller att förankra och omsätta kunskap om klimatförändringar i olika beslutskontexter. Avslutningsvis visar denna studie på att det finns både likheter och skillnader i hur anpassningsprocesser kommer till uttryck bland de olika aktörsgrupperna inom fallstudierna, t.ex. när det gäller hur begreppet anpassning används, vilken typ av anpassning som identifieras, upplevda möjligheter för anpassning samt graden av komplexitet.

The context of this study is a Housing Market Renewal project (HMR) in a South Asian lowincome home-owning community, in a small town in northern England. Its focus is an investigation into perceived inequalities and discriminatory practices in a previously neglected domain. The field work primarily entailed an ethnographic approach and repeated interviews with residents. The study has applied a multi-methodological approach in order to reconceptualize housing-related inequalities and discriminatory practices: realist/contextualist, hermeneutic, and post-structuralist approaches and methods of analysis are deployed. The empirical data fills the epistemological gap that has been identified by academics regarding residents' experiences of dwelling and gives unprecedented voice to those residents who have lived through the experience of HMR. The results of the study indicate that the cultural dynamics of communities are more complex than has hitherto been recognized in the HMR literature which relies on quantitative data sets. From the study results a hypothesis is constructed: the early stages of the community engagement process instigate the conflict and re-configure the community dynamics. The multi-methodological approach reveals how complex is the functioning of the reproductive processes of housing related discrimination. It also identifies complexity in the cycle of disengagement from the regeneration processes. The theory building approach, entailing the application of post structural analysis to the empirical data, has advanced the theoretical understanding of the processes and inhumane consequences of discrimination practices which constrain minority groups from practicing their cultural specific housing needs. The study has developed a dialogical framework to be used by practitioners, in recognition of the complexity of building conceptions of equality into the planning of housing renewal developments. It is recommended that more sophisticated frameworks are developed to improve policies and practices for putting in place culturally sensitive housing provision and addressing the mechanisms of discrimination. Additionally, it is recommended that an ethical framework should be drawn up and agreed by academics working in this field, to address the urgent need for standards of methodological pluralism and rigour in both research design and practice.

Els projectes de cooperació publicoprivada (CPP) són acords de col·laboració entre l’autoritat pública i el sector privat per proveir infraestructures i serveis públics, que s’estan utilitzant cada vegada més arreu del món. L’èxit d’aquests projectes, que és rellevant en si, s’analitza a la literatura principalment des de la perspectiva del cost, el temps i el compliment de les especificacions establertes al projecte. En canvi, la satisfacció dels stakeholders s’hi estudia molt poc, en especial la satisfacció dels usuaris dels serveis públics. L’objectiu d’aquesta recerca ha estat estudiar els factors determinants de l’èxit els CPP, utilitzant la perspectiva de la satisfacció de tres grups de stakeholders: el sector públic, el sector privat i la comunitat. La recerca analitza un projecte de CPP per a la provisió d’aigua i sanejament al sud de Lima, Perú. Aquest tipus de servei, per bé que és important, ha estat molt poc estudiat a la literatura. S’ha seguit un disseny general mixt seqüencial, amb un estudi exploratori qualitatiu i un de quantitatiu. El primer s’ha basat en entrevistes amb profunditat a experts en CPP, per tal d’obtenir-ne les seves percepcions respecte als stakeholders del projecte i els factors determinants de la seva satisfacció. Aquests resultats, junt amb els de la revisió de la literatura, han estat la base per a l’estudi quantitatiu. Aquest segon estudi ha permès recollir informació sobre les prioritats que determinaven la satisfacció dels tres grups de stakeholders del projecte esmentat. El disseny de l’instrument i el processament de les dades s’han basat en la tècnica Best-Worst, apropiada per als casos en què és necessari fer un trade-off entre diverses alternatives. Els resultats de la recerca han permès establir les prioritats entre els factors que determinen la satisfacció dels stakeholders a cada un dels tres grups. El sector públic prioritza els aspectes del servei i la seva qualitat, coincidint amb la comunitat. El sector privat, en canvi, prioritza els aspectes econòmics financers, i també els legals i de l’entorn polític, i insisteix en el compliment dels pagaments pels serveis oferts. S’ha observat tan sols un consens moderat dins de cada grup de stakeholders. La contribució principal d’aquesta recerca és la introducció de la satisfacció dels stakeholders com a criteri per mesurar l’èxit d’un projecte de CPP, particularment la dels usuaris d’aquests serveis. Es presenta el mètode Best-Worst com una forma senzilla i efectiva d’establir les prioritats dels stakeholders. Al final, es discuteixen les implicacions acadèmiques i pràctiques dels resultats d’aquesta recerca. També s’esmenten les limitacions de la recerca i les possibilitats que ofereix per a estudis futurs.
Los proyectos de Cooperación Público Privada (CPP) son acuerdos de colaboración entre la autoridad pública y el sector privado para proveer infraestructura y servicios públicos, que se están utilizando en forma creciente en todo el mundo. El éxito de estos proyectos, tema en sí relevante, es tratado en la literatura, pero principalmente desde la perspectiva de costo, tiempo y cumplimiento de las especificaciones establecidas para el proyecto. La satisfacción de los stakeholders es muy poco estudiada en la literatura, en especial la satisfacción de la comunidad, es decir de los usuarios de los servicios públicos. El objetivo de esta investigación fue estudiar los determinantes del éxito de los proyectos de CPP, usando la perspectiva de la satisfacción de tres grupos de stakeholders: el sector público, el sector privado y la comunidad. La investigación analiza un proyecto de CPP para la provisión de agua y saneamiento ubicado al sur de Lima, Perú. Aunque importante, este tipo de proyectos han sido poco estudiados en la literatura. Se usó un diseño general mixto secuencial, con un estudio exploratorio cualitativo y uno cuantitativo. El primero utilizó entrevistas en profundidad a expertos en CPP de sanemiento, obteniéndose sus percepciones respecto de los stakeholders del proyecto y los determinantes de su satisfacción. Estos resultados, añadidos a los de la revisión de la literatura, fueron la base para el estudio cuantitativo. Este último estudio permitió recolectar información acerca de las prioridades que determinaban la satisfacción de los tres grupos de stakeholders del mencionado proyecto. El diseño del instrumento y el procesamiento de los datos se basaron en la técnica Best-Worst, apropiada para los casos cuando es necesario el trade-off entre alternativas. Los resultados de la investigación permitieron establecer las prioridades entre los factores que determinan la satisfacción de los stakeholders en cada uno de los tres grupos. El sector público priorizaba aspectos del servicio y de la calidad del mismo, coincidiendo en este sentido con la comunidad. El sector privado en cambio, priorizaba aspectos económicos y financieros, así como legales y del entorno político, enfatizando el cumplimiento de los pagos por los servicios ofrecidos. Se observó solo moderado consenso dentro de cada grupo de stakeholders. La principal contribución de esta investigación es la introducción de la satisfacción de los stakeholders como criterio para medir el éxito de los proyectos CPP, particularmente la de los usuarios de estos servicios. Se presenta el método Best-Worst como una forma sencilla y efectiva para establecer las prioridades de los stakeholders. Al final, se discuten las implicancias académicas y prácticas de los resultados de esta investigación. Asimismo, se discuten las limitaciones de la investigación y las posibilidades para futuros estudios.
Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects are agreements between the public authorities and the private entities to provide infrastructures and utilities, which are being used increasingly worldwide. The success of these projects, a relevant issue by itself, is treated in the literature, but mostly from cost, time and project specification compliance perspectives. The satisfaction of the stakeholders is not studied often in the literature, in particular aspects related to the satisfaction of public services end users. The objective of this research was to study the determinants of success using the satisfaction perspective, for three groups of stakeholders: the public sector, the private sector and the community. The research analyzes a PPP project for the provision of water and sanitation services located south of Lima, Peru. Although important, this type of service has not been often studied in the literature. A sequential mixed overall design is used, with a qualitative and a quantitative study. The first study used in-depth interviews of PPP experts, to obtain their perceptions of who the project stakeholders are, as well as the determinants of their satisfaction. These results, added to those of the literature review, were the basis for the quantitative study. This latter study allowed the collection of information about the priorities that determined the satisfaction of the three groups of stakeholders of this project. The instrument design and data processing were based on Best-Worst technique, considered appropriate for cases when it is necessary to have a trade-off between alternatives. The research results allow the establishment of priorities among the factors that determine satisfaction of each group of stakeholders. The public sector prioritized aspects of the service and its quality; these results were in agreement with that of the community. The private sector prioritized economic and financial as well as legal and political environment aspects, emphasizing the fulfillment of payments for services rendered. Moderate consensus within each group of stakeholders was observed. The main contribution of this research is the introduction of stakeholder satisfaction as a criterion for measuring the success of a PPP project, in particular that of the users of these services. Best-Worst method is presented as a simple and effective way to obtain stakeholder priorities. Finally, academic and practical implications of the results of this research are discussed. Also, research limitations and possibilities for future studies are discussed.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the understanding of human rights in Agenda 2030 and the role of companies by adopting a human rights-based approach to sustainable development. It applies a qualitative idea analysis of the primarily material where central concepts are operationalized by constructing a model of analysis based on dimensions. The dimensions of human rights as moral, politics and law, derives from previous research by the ethical theorist Elena Namli. A potential fourth dimension, the economic dimension of human rights, is further developed, applying research of the economists Dan Seymour and Jonathan Pincus. Furthermore, this research considers what Agenda 2030 indicates in terms of human rights obligations for companies and the impacts the perceived role of companies may have for human rights. Therefore, the theoretical framework is complemented by research of the political theorist Thomas Pogge's, and international lawyer Andrew Clapham’s ideas of human rights obligations for companies. The results show that Agenda 2030 encourages a multi-stakeholder approach and addresses companies as partners in order to achieve a sustainable development based on human rights. This can be regarded as an opportunity to enhance the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights, inviting more actors to contribute in a complementary way to states. At the same time challenges remains in creating policies, accountability and monitoring mechanisms towards companies bothin terms of human rights and companies’ performance on the SDGs. Until there is more legal clarity, the moral question of what is good and fair business practice becomes central.

While sustainability-dedicated managers and related titles represent a profession that has hardly existed for more than a decade, it is not surprising that the field of research concentrating on these professionals is in itself relatively new. With an increasing demand for corporations to take their social and environmental responsibility, and a corporate sustainability characterized by tension and paradox, we found it of importance to explore the role and entanglements of these professionals. By analysing 17 in-depth interviews with sustainability-dedicated professionals from the private sector in Sweden, our interpretation is that sustainability managers hold the function of selling sustainability, with talk as their main weapon. Expressly, in the intersection between business-case logics and sustainability logics, sustainability managers have to, above all, make a convincing case for sustainability, inwards and outwards. Therefore, they draw dynamically on different narratives which we conceptualise in three roles: the chameleon, the pragmatic, and the nagging manager. Through these roles, we intend to capture the fluidity with which the managers relate and engage with sustainability, and hence we do not mean to ossify a role’s dynamics within a single, static or stereotypical category. We discuss these findings and concepts to the background of previous studies and existing literature.

Questionnaires translated into Shona
Mineral extraction is one of the key drivers of Africa’s economies and is also one of the largest industries in the world. In many African countries, including Zimbabwe, mining contributes to profound parts of the economy and remain the engine for economic growth. In recent years, and following the continual exploitation of minerals, mining companies have been scrutinized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems faced mainly by communities at the margins. In this regard, mining companies are widely perceived to be prospering at the expense of adjacent communities, who are the primary recipients of the externalities, mainly negative, from mining operations. Due to incongruent stakeholder interests conflicts have erupted given the peculiar case of the extractive industries in Zimbabwe. Having realised the differences among stakeholder interests over minerals, in the extractive industry the study sought to answer this question: how is CCE understood by different stakeholders? And how is CCE measured by the same stakeholders?. The focus of the study is to evaluate the meaning of CCE from multiple stakeholders in the extractive industry in Zimbabwe; and to analyse how CCE is measured by identified stakeholders. In order to satisfy the stated objectives, the study employed mixed research method. This study revealed similarity in understanding of CCE and its usefulness amongst the different stakeholder groups. Of cognitive importance is the realisation by stakeholders on the need for proactive communities and corporate investment into community for effective partnerships. Collaboration, empowerment, inclusion, trust and organisation emerged to be the major facilitators for CCE. The study presents operative CCE according to the obligations and expectations of stakeholders. Having realised that mining industries are particularly susceptible to conflict between stakeholders, the study suggests proactive desire to mitigate these conflicts through CCE in the mining industry. In this respect, community development, peace and stability and strong economy are the major outcomes of effective CCE. The study recommends participation of resource owners in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation as well as dividends sharing of mining projects as advocated for by the CCE Model. It is also recommended that the adoption of the CCE Model will ensure a sustainable and harmonious coexistence between the predominantly capitalistic mining concerns and the resource owners and solve part of the current impasse to business and community development.
Business Management
D.B.L.

In South Africa, there are high numbers of criminal incidents that are reported to the police every year. Crime prevention needs different stakeholders to work together in order to reduce crime. The South African Police Service (SAPS) looks after the interests of all citizens while the Private Security Industry (PSI) looks after the interests of their paying clients. Only people who can afford to pay extra ‘private’ protection services that are rendered by private security service providers use these services. In this manner, the PSI is a very important stakeholder in crime reduction. Of critical importance is the effective collaboration between the PSI and SAPS in combating crime. The mixed methods approach was used in this study: qualitative (focus group discussions which were only used by the researcher to familiarise himself with the topic being studied and one-on-one interviews with the members of top management from both PSI and the SAPS) and quantitative (questionnaires completed by members of the PSI and members of SAPS from operational levels). The study revealed the following: • There are barriers to more effective partnership policing between the SAPS and PSI in combating crime. These barriers came from both sides (SAPS and PSI) whereby the SAPS are said to be looking down on PSI and taking time to respond to the crime scenes when called upon. On the other hand, the manner in which the security members behave on the crime scene was said to be problematic; • Lack of effective control of PSI by the regulating body makes it easy for fly-by-night security companies to operate in South Africa hence tarnishing the image of the PSI; • There is a need to give additional legal powers to the deserving private security officers, after thorough training, in order to qualify them as Peace Officers so as to strengthen their role in crime prevention in areas where they do not render their security services as opposed to the citizens powers that the private security officers have as outlined in section 42 of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 51 of 1977; • The Memorandum of Understanding between the SAPS and PSI should be formulated by the crime prevention stakeholders in order to combat crime effectively; • The security training should be improved in order to enable the security officers to help police combat crime effectively. Based on the research findings, the recommendations were formulated which, hopefully, would help the stakeholders to improve their roles in crime prevention.
Criminology and Security Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

Since the 1960s research streams such as business ethics, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder management and competitive advantage have received much attention in academia. More recently, an emergence of the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) - asserting that the competitiveness of a business and society are mutually dependent. This thesis seeks to examine whether CSV strategies influence competitive advantage?, and if so, how? A theoretical framework guides the research through a stakeholder perspective, that links CSV strategies with conditions of competitive advantage. The general research approach chosen is a sequential explanatory study - whereby quantitative data is collected and analysed to collect primary data, the results of which are used to inform the subsequent qualitative phase - hence, it is a mixed method approach. Twelve cases were selected, from leading firms across several industry groups in Australia, and in-depth interviews were undertaken. A further process of document analysis was performed to triangulate the findings to establish their validity. Findings indicated that a firms competitive advantage is enhanced by addressing social issues to reveal new business opportunities, and using its core competencies and resources (superior resources, unique capabilities, and solid relationships) through targeted activities to improve their competitive positioning. Competitive advantage is analysed in terms of Porter’s diamond model that consists of four components: factor conditions, demand conditions, support conditions and rivalry conditions (Porter1990). Notably, study revealed that stakeholder management and partnerships play a pivotal role in the process of value creation, as they can influence the success or demise of CSV implementations. Aligned interests and ‘win-win’ outcomes help to shape the competitiveness of a firm, by forging stronger relationships, shared success, and drivers that determine cost, differentiation and social progress.