Perceived Organisational Reputation in South Africa’s Public Sector: Employees’ Narrative Accounts by Simi Ramgoolam (B.A. (Hon), M.A.) University of KwaZulu-Natal A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) in the School of Applied Human Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal November 2016 i DECLARATION I, Simi Ramgoolam, declare that: (i) The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original work. (ii) This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. (iii) This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. (iv) This thesis does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a) their words have been re‐written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced; b) where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. (v) Where I have reproduced a publication of which I am author, co‐author or editor, I have indicated in detail which part of the publication was actually written by myself alone and have fully referenced such publications. (vi) This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the References sections. Candidate: Simi Ramgoolam Signature ________________________ Supervisor: Professor Nhlanhla Mkhize, PhD Signature ________________________ ii Copyright © 2016 by Simi Ramgoolam iii ABSTRACT This study explored employees’ perceived organisational reputation at the City of Johannesburg. Perceived organisational reputation refers to how employees believe others outside the organisation view them because of their association with their organisation. A positive perceived organisational reputation is a powerful indicator of the strength of employees’ identification with their organisation. Furthermore, employees are the bedrock of organisational reputations, and are critical to their sustained success. Ostensibly, given South Africa’s tumultuous public sector legacy, democratic transition issues, and the numerous challenges that it currently faces, employees’ perceived organisational reputation, and hence organisational identification with their employer, has potentially been compromised. The aim of this study was to elucidate South African public sector employees’ subjective experiences and perceptions of their organisational reputation – the ‘perceived organisational reputation’. This was done in order to determine whether there were any gaps that needed to be addressed in this regard so as to cultivate and sustain their roles as credible custodians and lodestars of their public sector reputation. Fifteen participants from the City of Johannesburg, from both support services and customer-interfacing departments, participated in in-depth, narrative interviews. These were analysed using the Voice-Centred Relational Method, originally developed by Brown, Gilligan and their colleagues (Brown, Dacin, Pratt & Whetten, 1991; Brown & Gilligan, 1991). The participants were invited to relate a narrative of a time when they were involved in an incident that made them feel like the reputation of their organisation was under threat. iv The participants expressed a very negative perceived organisational reputation, which had consequences for their organisational identification, personal identities and self-esteem. They relayed a number of troubling reasons for this, including a perceived leadership void, and perceived corruption and unethical practices that had taken hold of the City of Johannesburg. Furthermore, employees’ negative perceived organisational reputation resulted in ‘conflicted selves’ at the City, and they therefore struggled with their connection to the City, due to factors like feeling ‘silenced’ in the organisation; experiencing judgment from their social circles because of their organisational affiliation; and battling to traverse the complex boundary between being the community and serving the community. However, these threats to their organisational identification were tempered by the enduring pride that the participants continued to experience in spite of the organisational obstacles they encountered, and a deep sense of hope that bound them to being part of South Africa’s progress as public sector employees. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 —INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Problem and Questions .................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Justification for the Research ........................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Delimitations ................................................................................................................................. 6 1.6 Outline of the Thesis ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.7 Summary of the Chapter ............................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 —THE RECIPROCITY OF REPUTATION ....................................................................... 10 2.1 Corporate Reputation .................................................................................................................. 10 2.2 A Positive Reputation Ensures the Support of Key Stakeholders ............................................... 12 2.3 Multidisciplinary Lenses on Corporate Reputation .................................................................... 13 2.4 A Nebulous Corporate Reputation Definitional Landscape ........................................................ 14 2.4.1 Corporate identity – what employees perceive, feel and think about their organisation .... 18 2.4.2 Corporate image – a business resource ............................................................................... 20 2.4.3 Corporate reputation refers to ‘outsider’ perceptions ......................................................... 22 2.5 Corporate Identity, Image and Reputation Are Inextricably Bound ........................................... 24 2.5.1 Employees are the bedrock of corporate reputations .......................................................... 26 2.5.2 Perceived corporate reputation ............................................................................................ 28 2.6 Summary of the Chapter ............................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 3 —APPLYING THE CORPORATE REPUTATION DISCOURSE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 3.1 A Growing Call for Studies on Reputation in the Public Sector ................................................. 32 3.2 The Unique Challenges and Complexities in the Public Sector.................................................. 33 3.3 The Juxtaposition of Developed and Developing States ............................................................. 36 3.4 The Power of a Strong Public Sector Reputation ........................................................................ 38 3.5 South Africa – a ‘Loaded’ Public Sector Legacy ........................................................................ 40 3.5.1 The local government sphere and the poor delivery of services ......................................... 45 vi 3.5.2 Skills development challenges in South Africa’s public service ........................................ 46 3.5.3 The plague of corruption in South Africa’s public service ................................................. 47 3.6 South Africa’s Public Sector Reputation Hinges on its Employees ............................................ 48 3.7 Perceived Organisational Reputation in the Public Sector in South Africa ................................ 50 3.8 The Centrality of Narratives in the Study of Perceived Organisational Reputation ................... 55 3.9 Summary of the Chapter ............................................................................................................. 56 CHAPTER 4 —THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS