Evaluation of Executive Selection from Perspective of the Corporate Reputation: a Research on Financial Institutions' Executives in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, it's examined reasons for executive selection based on data is obtain in Turkish Financial Sector context. Executive selection as an organizational behavior is extensively studied from perspective of contingency theory, resource dependency theory, institutional theory and agency theory. According to the theory of contingency, executive selection decisions depends on the characteristics of executives or performance of executives. On the other hand agency theory perspective sees executives aspects of agency cost. in terms of resource dependency theory, those organizational behaviors are explained by organizations need to manage dependencies. According to resource dependence theory, organizations that are dependent on environmental actors in order to gain power and control provide executive selection. As an intangable asset and strategic tool Corporate Reputation is defined by Fombrun (1996: 70) as " a perceptual representation of a company's past actions and future reprospects that describes the firm's overall appeal to all of its key constituents when compared with other leading rivals". So Corporate Reputation effects its relationship with all stakeholders and it is essential for its survival (Rose, 2004). Leadership and vision is one of the compotent of Corporate Reputation and an important dimension of Reputation measurement. in the Fortune, Management Today, Financial Times, Rayner (2001), Reputation Quotient and Reputex Social Responsibility Ratings (Bebbington, Larrinaga- Moneva 2008), Management quality and leadership is one of the elements that is focused on evaluation and measurement of the construct. Similarly, in different reputation raking surveys such as Reputation Quotient, Fortune, Capital and Good reputatin index, quality of management is a basic criteria for Corporate Reputation. As leadership and vision can make the organization gain more reputation in the eyes of the stakeholders, a crisis created by the leader can also yield to the loss of the Reputation (Okur ve Akpınar, 2012). Leaders and top management are the most visible people and they represent their companies in all areas. Therefore for the companies want to build a good reputation, protect and development it successfully, leaders and top management is essential. They are expected to hire managers and leaders who contrubute company's Corporate Reputation. Moreover, they are expected to establish selecting criterias that approprate to this aims for management or leader positions. The paper draws on both quantitative and qualititative analyses. Firstly it reveals the demographic profile of executives. Secondly, it applies a discourses analysis of interviews of 82 managers gathered from company magazines or other published materials. According to the results of the study, it is observed that selecting process of candidates for executives of firms heavily takes into account the prestige of the school they graduated and worked in the past. Further, gender is also considered as a matter corporate reputation in this selection process; %92 of executive positions are occupied by men.