Executive remuneration in South Africa : key issues highlighted by shareholder activists
Date
2015-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SUNMeDIA
Abstract
The growing wage gap in South Africa has far-reaching socioeconomic
consequences. This study investigated the nature of
executive remuneration issues raised by shareholder activists in
the country. An analysis of 24 510 votes cast by 17 investment
managers at 347 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange in 2013 revealed that the vote to endorse companies’
executive remuneration policies evoked the most opposition.
Well-known shareholder activist, Theo Botha, also criticised
companies for failing to disclose sufficient details on their
remuneration policies. A disconnect between the performance
of companies and their executives’ pay was also noted. It
is recommended that the non-binding vote on executive
remuneration be revised and more investor education provided.
Description
CITATION: Viviers, S. 2015. Executive remuneration in South Africa : key issues highlighted by shareholder activists. African Journal of Business Ethics, 9(1):1-28, doi:10.15249/9-1-112.
The original publication is available at http://ajobe.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://ajobe.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Executives -- Salaries -- South Africa, Shareholder activism -- South Africa, Wage gap -- South Africa, Stockholders -- South Africa, Corporations -- Investor relations -- South Africa
Citation
Viviers, S. 2015. Executive remuneration in South Africa : key issues highlighted by shareholder activists. African Journal of Business Ethics, 9(1):1-28, doi:10.15249/9-1-112.