Abstract:
The ability to effectively persuade in the context of the highly competitive, fast-paced,
but tight global economy is arguably an elixir to organisational growth in these
challenging times. Sustainable growth is dependant not only on carving out a
distinctive value proposition, but also on convincing the market of the merits thereof in
order to remain competitive. The need for this research originated from the gap in
literature on the interconnectedness of persuasive instruments, and their effectiveness
as mechanisms for organisational growth. Rhetoric and social influence are complex
phenomena, and their impact as persuasive instruments incompletely understood. By
better understanding their interconnectedness, the researcher hoped to appreciate how
executives could possibly leverage them, from an organisational perspective, as
instruments of growth.
A hypothetical framework was generated based on the themes that emerged from the
literature review. The framework was sense tested through in-depth interviews with
executives and the subsequent data analysis process, with the aim of validating its
rationale and a number of assumptions made in its creation. Interviews were
conducted with fourteen research respondents from a cross-section of industries,
comprising of eight executives in the listed corporate environment as well as six
owners of private entities. The stated objective of the research was to debunk growth
strategy in the context of the arduous current economic environment, and to explore
executives experiences and perspectives of growth strategy. The underlying objective
of the research was to investigate executives instinctive use of rhetoric and social
influence as persuasive instruments, as observed in the description of their growth
strategies. Research respondents were only made aware of the underlying research
objective after interview completion, so as to ensure the integrity of the data.
Through their narratives, research respondents enabled triangulation of the various
phenomena investigated. A refined model, dubbed the contemporary model of
persuasive instruments emerged from the findings of the research. It presented a
conceptualised framework of the combinations of rhetoric and social influence which
were observed in the interviews with executives. The research contributed toward the
facilitation of a better understanding of the interplay of persuasive instruments in
practice, which provided valuable insight on how to utilise these to the benefit of
business. The model, whilst only conceptual in nature, requires more rigorous strength
testing through the collection of quantitative data to further validate the findings.
