Browsing by Subject "Interviews"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Investigating the relationship between corporate tax avoidance and corporate culture in large South African companies
    (2022) Van Der Spuy, Pieter van Aardt; de Jager, Phillip
    Not all companies are equally aggressive in their pursuit of corporate tax avoidance, which explains intensive research on the determinants of tax avoidance. Many determinants have been investigated, but the process of tax avoidance, and the relationships between corporate tax avoidance, longtermism (indicative of a stakeholder-orientated corporate culture), and CEO characteristics (informed by upper-echelon theory), are not yet fully understood. Much of previous research is conceptualised from theories such as principal-agent theory. This study investigates the influence of stakeholder orientation, using corporate culture, on corporate tax avoidance, in response to calls for more research using stakeholder theory. A mixed-method approach is used. The quantitative stream uses regressions to investigate the relationship between corporate tax avoidance, corporate culture, and tax-knowledgeable CEOs, based on a sample of 112 large, listed South African companies, studied over a period of 15 years. The South African setting allows the operationalisation of a tax-knowledgeable CEO, based the homogenous nature of CEOs' qualifications in South Africa, where many are chartered accountants. The results suggest that long-term oriented companies pay more tax on average. The results further suggest that tax knowledgeable CEOs are associated with more tax avoidance. The qualitative stream conducts eleven interviews with corporate tax advisors, showing the influence of corporate culture and CEO characteristics on corporate tax avoidance processes, but also how corporate culture and CEO-characteristics mutually inform each other. Altogether, the evidence indicates that the effect of corporate culture is less static than expected, and that the influence of corporate culture on tax avoidance can transcend the influence of CEO-characteristics, as an upperechelon effect. The interviews suggest mechanisms used by CEOs to influence tax culture, such as the creation of a company-wide awareness of the strategic importance of low effective tax rates. These results also indicate the ethical dilemma faced by executives of large companies when considering the use of tax-deductible corporate social responsibility initiatives, not to benefit shareholders or agents, but rather to benefit society as a corporate stakeholder, when governments would not.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    They're learning, I'm learning, everybody is learning: the design and use of a questionnaire to deepen an appreciation of the role of formative assessment in primary teaching
    (2005) Brown, Simon; Sieborger, Rob
    Researchers and practitioners are increasingly recognizing the contribution that formative assessment can make to learning. It is largely based on Black & Wiliam's (1998) meta-analysis, which provided evidence that strengthening the practice of formative assessment raised standards and produced significant learning gains. Whether strategies are carried through into classrooms is, however, less certain. In trying to establish how teachers' use assessment for learning, researchers have drawn on findings from questionnaires or interviews and/or classroom observations but, have usually only been able to describe what teachers say they do. With this problem in mind, the researcher set out to design a questionnaire that would allow them to demonstrate and comment on their current assessment practice. Implicit in this was also a desire to help teachers grow professionally. The sample involved in the development of the questionnaire included six primary schools, fifteen Grade 6 teachers and two professional development teacher educators. During stage one, interviews were carried out with five teachers to familiarise the researcher with common approaches to assessment in schools. Findings enabled the categorisation of ways that assessment is carried out and perceived and, recognised the need to provide teachers with an opportunity to clarify the relevant concepts for themselves. What emerged was a need for some professional development and as a result, the focus grew to explore ways of informing teachers about using formative assessment for learning. A questionnaire was then constructed and piloted (stage two). Feedback from teachers revealed that the questions had made them consider their own practice and realise the potential of using assessment formatively. It also helped to confim1 questions, identify limitations and aid the re-design. The testing stage (stage three) helped to interpret findings, inform decisions, consider effectiveness and where required, justify formative recommendations for the next design. Finally, during stage four, two specialists evaluated the questionnaire. Their feedback served to validate and strengthen the design and establish credibility and confidence in the instrument. They were also able to advise further lines of inquiry and opportunities for extending the research.