In the Mirror of the Market: the Disciplinary Effects of Company/Fund Manager Meetings

Purpose - To explore the effects of meetings between company executives and fund managers. Design/methodology/approach - Recognizes the increasing importance of these face-to-face meetings, reviews relevant research and draws on information from interviews with finance directors and investor relations managers from 13 FTSE 100 companies (part of a larger study) and observations of meetings to assess their effects. Applies Foucault's ideas on the indivisibility of the power/knowledge nexus to look at information and control impacts of these meetings on investors and directors. Findings - Meetings are an exercise of disciplinry power and acknowledge the rights of shareholders to monitor managers' performance and to hold them accountable. Executives see them as an opportunity to influence investors' perceptions, take great care to prepare for them and focus mainly on explaining company strategy. They may be forced to symbolize shareholder value but this gives them added power to speak for the shareholder within the business and thus affect strategy. This is reinforced by the increased use of performance-related pay and options. Research limitations/implications - More work is needed and promised on the influence of fund managers. Originality/value - Reflects on the personal and corporate impact of company/fund manager meetings.