Mixed-methods: measurement and evaluation among investor relations officers

Abstract

Purpose – While investor relations have become an established corporate function, research into how investor relations officers (IROs) practice measurement and evaluation is limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine which approaches and metrics IROs use to gauge their success. Design/methodology/approach – To address this gap in the literature, this study surveyed (n=384) the corporate membership of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the world's largest investor relations association, on the topic of measurement and evaluation. Findings – The results indicate that IROs strongly (80 percent) believe that mixed-methods (i.e. both quantitative and qualitative methods) should be used to measure the success of investor relations. Mixed-methods advocates place significantly more importance on measurement than IROs that prefer quantitative- or qualitative-only approaches. Research limitations/implications – The results of this survey indicate that IROs typically place the most value on metrics that are qualitative, non-financial and relationship-oriented. These findings suggest that IROs believe they should be evaluated in large part on their competency at relationship management. Practical implications – From a benchmarking perspective, these findings suggest that IROs looking to align with their peers should use a mix of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation measures that are non-financial and relationship management-focused. Originality/value – These findings contribute to recent efforts to explicate a general theory of investor relations. While investor relations scholarship has grown in recent years, up until this point, little attention had been paid to measurement and evaluation.