A systematic review and synthesis of research and practice : linking an organisation’s strategic planning with a national vision for a sustainable future : the case of FNB Namibia

Thesis (MComm)—Stellenbosch University, 2016.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A global shift towards sustainable practices is evident. Multi-stakeholder Collaboration has emerged as a key success factor in reaching a shared sustainable future. Global initiatives such as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and more recently the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to inform these collaborative relationships. On a national level, it thus calls for national development plans and subsequent policy-making to follow suit. However, evidence of the collaboration in planning towards a shared sustainable future is lacking, and even more so in developing countries such as Namibia. This hinders the potential shared value to be derived by all stakeholders and leads to the identification of the need to better understand how organisations can link their strategic planning to a national vision for a sustainable future. This study thus had the aim to fill the gap identified by firstly systematically examining the literature for evidence of the purposeful inclusion of sustainability in the strategic planning processes of organisations and how this is done. In addition, a focused case study approach was followed to explore the business imperative for a sustainable future in FNB Namibia as well as how FNB Namibia linked their strategic planning to a national vision for a sustainable future. The literature review, focused on the intersect between corporate sustainability, strategic planning, and national planning, provided the background for selecting the keywords to be used in the systematic literature review as well as in compiling the semi-structured interview guide. FNB Namibia was selected as sampling unit through the means of purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the executive management combined with content analysis on the annual report of FNB Namibia. Results of the systematic literature review suggest that the context in which organisations operate are strongly influenced by the political environment. Shared value creation in terms of social, economic and environmental capital is thus created within a specific political sphere. As a result of the synthesis between primary and secondary research findings, a model is proposed which might be utilised to map the current strategic mode the organisation is operating from and how this in turn informs their strategy. Practitioners can also use the model as integration tool towards a shared vision for a sustainable future. Future research could focus on expanding the model to include strategic planning implementation best practices. Keywords: corporate sustainability, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, corporate governance, shared value, strategic planning, national development plan.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Globale skuif in die rigting van volhoubare praktyke is tans aan die orde van die dag. Veelvoudige Belanghebbers Samewerking het ontstaan as een van die sleutelsuksesfaktore in die bereiking van ʼn gedeelde, volhoubare toekoms. Globale inisiatiewe, soos die Verenigde Nasies se Millennium Ontwikkelingsdoelstellings en meer onlangs die Verenigde Nasies se Volhoubare Ontwikkelingsdoelstellings, het ten doel om hierdie samewerkende verhoudinge in te lig. Op ʼn nasionale vlak vra dit dus vir nasionale ontwikkelingsplanne en gevolglike beleidsvorming. Bewyse van samewerking vir die beplanning van ʼn gedeelde, volhoubare toekoms skiet egter te kort en selfs in ʼn meerdere mate in ontwikkelende lande soos Namibië. Dit verhinder die potensiële gedeelde waarde wat deur alle belanghebbers verkry kan word en lei tot die identifisering van die behoefte om beter begrip te verkry van hoe organisasies hulle strategiese beplanning kan aanhaak by ʼn nasionale visie vir ʼn volhoubare toekoms. Hierdie studie se doelwit was daarom om die gaping te vul wat eerstens geïdentifiseer is deur middel van die bestudering van literatuur vir bewyse van die doelmatige insluiting van volhoubaarheid in die strategiese beplanningsproses van organisasies en hoe dit uitgevoer word. Boonop is ʼn gefokusde gevallestudie metode gevolg om die besigheidsnoodsaak vir ʼn volhoubare toekoms in FNB Namibië te ondersoek asook hoe FNB Namibië hul strategiese beplanning aangehaak het by ʼn nasionale visie vir ʼn volhoubare toekoms. The literatuuroorsig het gefokus op die kruispunt tussen korporatiewe volhoubaarheid, strategiese beplanning en nasionale beplanning, en as agtergrond vir die seleksie van sleutelwoorde vir gebruik in die sistematiese literatuuroorsig asook in die samestelling van die semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudsgids. FNB Namibië is gekies as toetsingseenheid deur middel van doelgerigte toetsing. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gedoen met die uitvoerende bestuur, gekombineerd met ‘n inhoudsanalise van die jaarverslag van FNB Namibië. Resultate van die sistematiese literatuurstudie stel voor dat die konteks waarbinne organisasies optree, baie sterk deur die politieke omgewing beïnvloed word. Gedeelde waardeskepping met betrekking tot sosiale, ekonomiese en omgewingskapitaal, word dus geskep binne ʼn bepaalde politieke sfeer. As ʼn gevolg van die resultaat van die kombinasie van primêre en sekondêre navorsingsbevindinge, is ʼn model voorgestel wat gebruik kan word om die huidige strategiese metode waarvolgens die organisasie funksioneer te illustreer asook hoe dit andersyds die strategie inlig. Praktisyns kan ook die model gebruik as ʼn integrasiemetode met die oog op ʼn gedeelde visie vir ʼn volhoubare toekoms. Toekomstige navorsing kan daarop fokus om die model uit te brei om ook strategiese beplanning implementasiepraktyke in te sluit