Corne Meintjes
@uj.ac.za
Associate Professor, Department of Strategic Communication, Faculty of Humanities
University of Johannesburg
I have worked in higher education for the past twenty (20) years and specialize in the areas of strategic communication, marketing and stakeholder engagement. I hold a Doctor of Commerce from the University of Pretoria, highlighting the importance of stakeholder relationship management and corporate governance, enabling organizations to be good corporate citizens. I have lectured 39 unique courses at various levels at six different institutions, including an international institution (Monash University), published 16 peer-reviewed articles and 13 book chapters, and presented at 24 academic conferences. I have developed and delivered 14 unique industry courses/workshops. I am active in various university committees and have fulfilled several educational management and administration leadership roles. I have supervised 12 master's and one doctorate student to completion and currently hold a Nation Research Foundation (South African funding body) Thuthuka Grant.
EDUCATION
DCom Communication Management
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Stakeholder engagement, strategic communication, corporate citizenship
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Adele Berndt and Corné Meintjes
Emerald
Purpose Family businesses feature prominently in economies, including the South African wine industry, using websites to convey their family identity. This research paper aims to explore the family identity elements that family wineries use on their websites, their alignment and how these are communicated online. Design/methodology/approach Based on Gioia’s methodology, a two-pronged approach was used to analyze 113 wineries’ websites’ text using Atlas. ti from an interpretivist perspective. Findings South African wineries use corporate identity, corporate personality and corporate expression to illustrate their familiness on their websites. It is portrayed through their family name and heritage, supported by their direction, purpose and aspirations, which emerge from the family identity and personality. These are dynamic and expressed through verbal and visual elements. Wineries described their behaviour, relevant competencies and passion as personality traits. Sustainability was considered an integral part of their brand promise, closely related to their family identity and personality, reflecting their family-oriented philosophy. These findings highlight the integration that exists among these components. Practical implications Theoretically, this study proposes a family business brand identity framework emphasising the centrality of familiness to its identity, personality and expression. Using websites to illustrate this familiness is emphasised with the recommendation that family businesses leverage this unique attribute in their identity to communicate their authenticity. Originality/value This study contributes to understanding what family wineries communicate on their websites, specifically by examining the elements necessary to create a family business brand based on the interrelationship between family identity, personality and expression with familiness at its core, resulting in a proposed family business brand identity framework.
Randy Robertson and Corné Meintjes
Informa UK Limited
Abstract The influence of computational propaganda on democratic processes globally has necessitated the exploration of mitigation strategies for political brands. The risk associated with computational propaganda includes the spread of misleading information about a political brand over social networking sites through bots (i.e. automated software applications that are programmed to do certain tasks) and newsfeed algorithms at rapid speeds. Apart from bots being used to facilitate the spread of disinformation (i.e. misleading information spread with the intent to manipulate or deceive), human curators also play a role. Research into addressing computational propaganda in the field of political communication is limited, compelling the need to look to consumer brand experts for insight. The current study used semi-structured interviews of senior consumer brand social media practitioners and applied content analysis to develop a framework for mitigating online brand risk associated with computational propaganda for political brands. This computational propaganda brand risk mitigation framework proposes two approaches to curb the effects of computational propaganda, namely, a preventative approach and a recovery approach. Based on established theoretical and practical concepts, this mitigation framework could guide the easing of online brand risk and associated crises for political brands.
Karen Margaret Corbishley, Roger B. Mason, and Corne Meintjes
IGI Global
The aim of this article is to investigate perceived loyalty program benefits inherent in loyalty programs and how they might affect relationship quality, specifically in the South African FMCG sector. A quantitative study was undertaken where loyalty program members were approached via a national database. Hypotheses were individually tested by means of regression analysis. All three forms of perceived benefits exhibited positive relationships with each of the relationship quality constructs. Retailers that are considering which benefits to include in a loyalty program would find the results instructive. This article also adds to the international body of research in the field of relationship marketing, customer loyalty and retail loyalty programs. This study reiterates the importance of loyalty program design and the potential for attitudinal change towards the retailer.
Adele Berndt, HB Klopper, Ilse Niemann-Struweg, and Corne Meintjes
Springer International Publishing
Adele Berndt, HB Klopper, Ilse Niemann-Struweg, and Corne Meintjes
Springer International Publishing
C. Meintjes and A.F. Grobler
Elsevier BV
The King Reports on Governance for South Africa are internationally respected for proposing integrated reporting in a triple bottom-line business context to improve corporate governance. The most recent report, King III, views stakeholder relationship management as a key tenet of corporate governance. This raises the question whether public relations professionals (PRPs) understand the principles of corporate governance well-enough to inform and guide organizations on the management of stakeholder relationships. The views of senior PRPs at selected top performing companies were elicited on their practice of stakeholder relationship management in line with corporate governance principles. It was found that their knowledge on corporate governance was limited, although they recognized its importance. They propose six role functions for managing stakeholder relationships on a strategic or managerial level; these role functions are aligned with the King III principles on stakeholder relationships. The following three were of particular importance: developing a corporate strategy, giving advice to senior management and managing crisis communication. Different terminologies were used to build relations with stakeholders and different approaches were used to profile stakeholders. It is recommended that organizations leverage their public relations functions on strategic and managerial levels in support of their corporate governance efforts. In turn, PRPs are encouraged to ensure a deep knowledge on corporate governance issues when counseling senior management on building stakeholder relationships.
Adele Berndt, H.B. Klopper, Ilse Niemann‐Struweg, and Corne Meintjes
Emerald
The purpose of the study was to investigate the involvement and actions (co-creation) of residents of South Africa prior to the commencement of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, which was held in South Af ...
Corné Meintjes and Ilse Niemann-Struweg
Informa UK Limited
Abstract Experiential learning in corporate communication practitioners' professional development has been emphasised by South African higher education institutions and the business sector alike. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore corporate communication postgraduate learner opinions on the contribution of the experiential learning component (internship) towards their professional development. A qualitative research strategy was selected, using qualitative questionnaires and analysing the data through Tesch's descriptive method for open coding. It was found that learners experienced the completion of their internships as an invaluable component in their professional development. Furthermore, a streamlined approach to the management of internships could enhance the success of internship experiences. The study provides insight into the opinions of learners regarding the value of experiential learning and assists in identifying problem areas which could aid the philosophy, structure and management of other experiential learning programmes.
Ilse Niemann-Struweg and Corné Meintjes
Elsevier BV
Abstract Professionalism is a contentious topic in journals serving a wide range of disciplines, both internationally and in South Africa. However, there is seldom concrete empirical research into professionalism—which limits the usefulness of this debate. In response, the present study empirically investigates the perceptions of South African public relations (PR) practitioners regarding professionalism. The questionnaire-based survey shows that the professionalism problem for PR practitioners in South Africa is twofold. Firstly, the South African PR governing body has not taken ownership of the issues regarding professionalism amongst its members. Secondly, practitioners themselves are making little effort to professionalize their activities. Both parties agree on the importance of professionalization, but claim that the onus is on the other party to promote it. This situation is untenable: professionalization should be actively encouraged so as to maximize the impact of the PR profession in South Africa.
Corné Meintjes and Benita Steyn
Informa UK Limited
Abstract The aim of this article is to provide a critical evaluation of the Downs-Hazen instrument (Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire) (CSQ) by applying it to the measurement of employee communication satisfaction at a private higher education institution in South Africa. Three communication satisfaction dimensions, consisting of eight constructs, were measured. The results indicated that although employees are satisfied with their relationship with superiors, a need exists for improved communication on the psychological atmosphere in the organisation; the information employees receive about their immediate work environments, meetings and written directives; horizontal and informal communication that is accurate and free flowing; information about the organisation as a whole; as well as the way in which employees are being judged and appraised. A final conclusion is that the Downs-Hazen CSQ is still applicable even though it was first developed almost 30 years ago. Furthermore, the adjustments to items in this study did not affect the reliability of the adapted questionnaire.