Strategiska påverkansmetoder i en livsmedelsbutik
en kvalitativ företagsundersökning på vad en butik gör för att påverka kundens inköpsbeteende
Corporate governance intensified due to the corporate scandals in the USA which led to a new law the so called Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).In 2005 the "Svensk kod för bolagsstyrning" (The Code) was introduced. The main purpose of The Code is to strengthen the confidence in Swedish companies quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The Code focuses on the working process of boards. The rules set by The Code places higher demands on the board. Among many other duties the board has to establish long term operational goals and strategy. The introduction of The Code has increased the board's administrative workload and the natural question is if The Code has limited the board's ability to work with strategic issues.The purpose of this study is to find out if the introduction of The Code has had some limiting impact on boards ability to work with strategic issues. The study shall account for eventual divergences between different board members responses depending on the role they have on the board. The study focuses on the 26 corporations registered in Sweden and listed on the OMXS30TM-index. A survey has been sent to the 270 board members of these companies. The response rate was 31 percent. The highest response rate was in the group Chairmen of The Board which was as high as 70 percent. The study is based on general theories of corporate governance and the role of boards in regards to working with corporate strategy.Strategic issues are generally handled both as an integral part of each board meeting and also dealt with at annual strategy board meeting. Most boards hold six board meetings per year and five of them include strategic issues. Board members prefer to maintain the way they handle strategic issues. Representatives of the employees and directors operatively employed in the company prefer yearly strategy meetings.The study does not confirm that the administrative workload is an obstacle for the board to work with strategic issues.The board members believe they have access to the information needed and believe they have competent board members. Two chairmen do not agree to have access to the information needed to enable them to work with strategic issues.The majority of chairmen of the board of directors and of director employed operatively in the company agree that there needs to be more emphasis on specific industry and business competence when recruiting new board members. Representatives of the employees are more divided in respect to this issue.To implement a strategy committee similar to remuneration or audit committees in order to improve the board's strategic work is not a solution the board members find suitable.The claim that the introduction of the code with its many rules should have had a negative impact on the board's possibilities to focus on strategic issues cannot be confirmed by the survey.