Abstract:
This study explores the participation of professional marketers in the governance of New Zealand’s top commercial companies. For the purposes of this study professional marketers are taken as those who have tertiary qualifications in marketing or have held senior management roles in marketing or both. The research relates to the issue of professional diversity in corporate governance and views the board of directors as the highest level of strategic development and strategic leadership, in the organisation. Particularly in terms of developing and re-creating competitive advantage, corporate level marketing and maintaining competitiveness. These skills can benefit the board’s in-depth review/analysis of proposals for corporate strategy and resource allocation by management. Market-orientated directors can keep a strategic focus on the competitive environment maintaining and improving the organisations competitiveness, to ensure profitability and long term survival. The presence of marketers in governance has not been addressed in prior New Zealand research. Two comparative groups are taken from the NZX10 company listings from 5 January 2000 and 5 January 2010. Biographical information was then analysed from these companies annual reports and semi structured interviews were held with directors from the wider NZX50 listed companies at the same dates. The participation of individual marketers was quantified and comparative rates between the two dates showed at marked increase from 2.8% to 9.9% in the 2010 companies. In terms of the number of these companies that had marketers on their board’s the 2010 rate was surprising high at 50%. This study was also able to identify the large participation of chartered accountants on these boards; 11.8% up to 16.7% in the 2010 companies. The most important implication of these findings is the impact on the market-focus of these companies and their ability to implement long term competitive strategies, based on competitive advantage, which address local and international markets. The competitiveness and survival of these large organisations also impacts the wider New Zealand economy.
