Project on

Corporate Governance in Consulting and Research Firms in Bangladesh

Course: MGT 489 # 15, Summer 2019

Submitted To

Dr. Muslima Zahan

Assistant Professor

Submitted By
Md. Osman Bhuya ID: 1612788030
Md. Akib Reza ID: 1610845030
Md. Arman Islam Sun ID: 1612582030
Sadia Islam ID: 1610313030

School of Business and Economics

North South University

Date of Submission: 01/09/2019

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Acknowledgement:
All praises to the Almighty Allah, who has bestowed his kindness upon us by giving us the
opportunity, time, courage, strength and patience to carry out and complete the project successfully.
We are very much grateful to our honorable Assistant Professor, Dr. Muslima Zahan who is the
faculty of Department of Management at North South University, for giving us the opportunity to do
this project. Her valuable suggestions, guidelines and helpful advices throughout the semester lead to
successful completion of this project. Her precious time, support and patience throughout the semester
have been remarkable and are also appreciated from the bottom of our heart.

Finally, we must not lose the opportunity of expressing our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Dr.
Muslima Zahan who gave her level best in doing the project on Corporate Governance in
Consulting and Research Firms in Bangladesh.

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Letter of Transmittal:
1st September, 2019

Dr. Muslima Zahan

Assistant Professor,

Department of Management,

North South University

Subject: Submission of the project.

Dear Mam,

It is our great pleasure to submit the project on Corporate Governance in Consulting and Research
Firms in Bangladesh. We have tried to follow the instruction given by you. Throughout the study we
have tried to identify and state the hypothesis, research questions, purpose of the project, literature
review, data collection, methodology and interpreting the results using the SPSS software. To serve the
purpose, we have conducted a detailed analysis on the issues that were raised when look into in details,
to get a sound output. As per your direction, we have tried our best to highlight our findings in this
report. Thus, we hope that this report will fulfill the requirements suggested by you for the course
Strategic Management (MGT489).

We sincerely hope that you will enjoy this report as much as we enjoyed writing it. If you need any
further clarification or quarry in interpreting this analysis, we will be glad to oblige you.

The entire duration of preparing this report has been immensely helpful to us and it was a golden
opportunity to increase our ideas, concepts and interpersonal skills on literature review and SPSS
software.

Yours Sincerely,

Md. Osman Bhuya

Md. Akib Reza
Md. Arman Islam Sun
Sadia Islam

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Contents
Acknowledgement: .................................................................................................................................................. 2
Letter of Transmittal: ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Executive Summary:................................................................................................................................................ 5
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Purpose of the Project: ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Literature Review .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Corporate Governance: ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Stakeholder Involvement: .................................................................................................................................... 8
Board of Director’s Characteristics: .................................................................................................................... 8
Innovation and knowledge management: ............................................................................................................ 8
CSR and Business ethics in Consultancy Strategic Management Firms: ............................................................ 9
Flexibility through HRM: .................................................................................................................................... 9
Research gaps with our research questions: .......................................................................................................... 10
Research questions: ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Hypothesis: ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
Data collection Methodology: ............................................................................................................................... 12
Sampling: ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
SPSS Analysis ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Dependent Variable ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Independent Variable ......................................................................................................................................... 12
1.0. Results Interpretation ...................................................................................................................................... 13
1.1. Model Regression: ...................................................................................................................................... 13
1.2. Correlations ................................................................................................................................................ 13
1.3. Model Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 15
1.4. ANOVA ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
1.5. Coefficients ................................................................................................................................................. 16
Limitations: ............................................................................................................................................................ 17
Overall Discussion:................................................................................................................................................ 18
Recommendation/ Strategic Implications: ............................................................................................................. 19
Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................................ 20
References: ............................................................................................................................................................ 21
Appendix: .............................................................................................................................................................. 26

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Executive Summary:
This paper is aimed at providing a framework for the analysis of corporate governance (CG) and its
factors of performance utilizing the organizational structures and processes in consulting and research
firms in Bangladesh. However, Corporate Governance (CG) is a relatively newer term both in the
public and academic debates in Bangladesh. In the case of Bangladesh it has not been flourished
enough yet. Before the collapse of some renowned global corporations policy makers did not draw
proper attention to it. Bangladesh has implemented a number of changes in corporate laws and
regulations. It was found that Bangladesh stands far behind and has implemented the CG which is not
entirely suitable considering the economic, legal and corporate environment of the country. This
research paper will analyze in detail whether the multilayered organizational structure, strong
leadership, work transparency, behavioral control system, small board size and private ownership
provide better performance in consultancy firm or not through utilizing proper corporate governance in
consulting and research firms in Bangladesh. According to our research data, our independent variable
as a group impacts the organizational performance. However, among those independent variables the
organizational structure is playing the significant role in enchanting the organizational performance of
a research and consulting firms in Bangladesh. Hence, this research paper will provide some important
recommendation in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in consulting and research firms
in Bangladesh.

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Introduction:
The market search agency and management consulting industry of Bangladesh has received little
academic attention due to a variety of reasons. First, it is highly fragmented with a variety of research
and consulting firms in Bangladesh, ranging from the “big three” global strategy-consulting firms to a
large number of individual/independent consultants. Second, the industry has not been regulated,
unlike other professional service firms such as accounting and law, and little attention has been paid to
even the establishment of professional bodies such as consultants’ associations. Third, apart from the
differences in size and scale, there exists a wide variety in the positioning and differentiation of the
various consulting firms. However, the research and consulting industry of Bangladesh is booming
now since clients are now getting benefits in order to achieve competitive advantages with credible and
consistent research output of market research and consulting firms.

The consultancy industry has experienced some challenges in the recent years. Some major firms like
March First and A.D. Little has already experienced major losses. These troublesome developments are
not transitory phenomena of the economic crisis but in fact signs of a long term shift in power away
from consultants toward their clients (Graubner & Richter, 2008). To survive this shift in power, firms
need to focus on client’s needs. Distinctive interface between clients and suppliers which means co-
presence and interaction is typically essential (Morgan, Sturdy, & Quack, 2016). Now firms are
focusing on new tools and control systems. Particular attention has been paid to planning and control
systems, human resources management systems, and performance management systems, leaving a few
pioneers to develop their analysis on corporate governance mechanisms with regard their relationships
with both the external (stakeholders) actors and the internal (management) ones (Gnan et. all..., 2013).

The management consulting industry of Bangladesh has been through severe challenges. For instance,
in 2002, The Economist (2002) wrote that the strategy-consulting industry was “wasting away” as
strategy had become a commodity, as bright business school graduates were equally available to top
corporations as they were to consulting firms for hiring. Fortune Magazine (2003) concluded that pure-
play strategy of research and consulting firm in Bangladesh as a business was shrinking, as clients
reduced their engagement levels, shortened project lifecycles, and began demanding concrete,
measurable returns for their investments.

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Purpose of the Project:
The purpose of this study is to do a research to find out the positive relationship and effectiveness
between corporate governance and performance where corporate governance is an independent
variable and performance is the dependent variable. This research will analyze whether the
multilayered organizational structure, strong leadership, work transparency, behavioral control system,
small board size and private ownership provide better performance in consultancy firm or not through
utilizing proper corporate governance in consulting and research firms in Bangladesh. At the same
time, this research will provide some important recommendation in order to increase efficiency and
effectiveness in consulting and research firms in Bangladesh.

Literature Review
Corporate Governance:
A large number of studies have examined the relationship between corporate governance and firm
performance. Most of the studies suggested positive correlation. But despite the intuition that good
governance leads to good performance by firm, there has been lack of conclusive evidence on this
linkage and the results have been mixed (Aggarwal, 2013). Corporate governance deals with the
agency problem: the separation of management and finance. They strongly emphasized that enhanced
corporate governance is the cause of enhanced performance and not vice versa and good corporate
governance fosters long-term profitability and it does, in fact, pay (Aggarwal, 2013). Perhaps most
intuitive is that good governance, which minimizes the chance of managerial tunneling (Cumming et.
all..., 2017). Corporate Governance has become a top priority for the regulatory bodies with the
objective of providing better and effective protection to all stakeholders and also to make the market
confident as research reveals a positive correlation between corporate governance and share prices.
Corporate governance demands that executives make their companies more transparent and
accountable; social responsibility demands that companies support society with their activities,
and business ethics clarifies moral norms for employees (Taysir & Pazarcik, 2013).

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Stakeholder Involvement:
Stakeholder’s contribution is vital for a firm’s success. In the twentieth century firms were mostly
focused on increasing the wealth of shareholders, as a result the stakeholders were overlooked. This
line of thought led to the stakeholder theory that corporations must attempt to maximize stakeholders’
interests instead of just focusing on shareholders’ benefits (Agarwal & Goel, 2018). The Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) wrote guidelines in order to ensure good
corporate governance practices, focusing on relations with stakeholders (Gnan et. all..., 2013).

Board of Director’s Characteristics:

How much power does the Board of Directors possess and how they use it is vital in uploading
shareholder’s interests. Conflict of interest, Concentration of power and reduced board independence
are usually observed when the roles of CEO and Chairman of board are exercised by the same
individual (Aggarwal, 2013). In addition, a board controlled by the CEO is likely lead to more agency
problems and poor performance (Shukeri et. all..., 2012).

Innovation and knowledge management:

Innovation in consulting firms has missed specific attention in academic research. Consulting firms are
usually considered to be part of Knowledge‐Intensive Business Services (KIBS), Professional Service
Firms (PSF) or Project‐Based Firms (PBF) (Aguilar et. all..., 2015). Most studies on innovation in
services have pointed KIBS as the leading sub‐sector regarding innovation and cooperation. The
knowledge management cluster emphasizes the important role of knowledge as the key detonator for
innovation in consulting firms. Service innovation can be understood in different views. There are
many key themes when reviewing service innovation since it incorporates knowledge and offerings
co‐created by connected resources such as customers, suppliers and employees which impacts sales and
costs enhancing competitive advantage (Aguilar et. all..., 2015). Knowledge management is fast
becoming the terminology of many companies' efforts to gain competitive advantage from the efficient
and effective management of their knowledge assets (Wright, 2005).

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CSR and Business ethics in Consultancy Strategic Management Firms:
CSR has become an important element in the business strategy of a growing number of companies
worldwide. A large number of initiatives have been developed that aim to support firms in developing,
implementing and communicating about CSR (Runhaar, 2009). But still strategic management field
does not really care about Business Ethics and Corporate social responsibilities concepts, though it
does not totally ignore them (Taysir, 2013). It is surprising that the negligence of the SM field with
regard to business ethics and social responsibility concepts even if they harm the financial performance
of a company by raising costs, it is almost impossible to sustain a business by ignoring them because
Global warming, pollution are just the most visible examples of this situation (Taysir, 2013). So,
corporate giants that follow traditional methods will have to transform their strategies and scholars
should support this transformation with their research (Taysir, 2013).

Flexibility through HRM:

Success in human resource management (HRM) depends on the question of whether applied practices
of HRM meet specific contingency factors ((Kaiser et. all..., 2015). Here, two different perspectives
can be detected in the literatures as to whether numerical and functional flexibility are alternative or
complementary (Cardoso et. all..., 2008). Functional flexibility requires a skilled and committed
workforce that can only be achieved by investing in training and long-term employment relationships
and is, therefore, connected with the establishment of internal labor markets and primary sector
employment (Morris, 1992). Numerical flexibility represents a cost-cutting approach that looks to
externalize the employment relationship, and is associated with short-term and precarious employment
conditions in the secondary labor market segment, under which workers have little incentive or
opportunity to be functionally flexible (Morris, 1992). A strategy combining numerical and functional
flexibility through an integrated set of HRM policies and practices will be more effective than
segmenting the workforce or choosing between those two sources of flexibility (Cardoso et. all...,
2008).

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Research gaps with our research questions:
According to our literature review we found out that most of the research was done on consultancy
firms of UK and US. These articles discussed strategies for the firms in those countries also the
challenges they face. But there were no article regarding consultancy firms of Bangladesh. Now the
challenges Bangladeshi consultancy firms face is different from the UK and US firms. So the strategies
advised by the articles are not reliable for Bangladeshi firms. We wanted to fill this gap with our
research.

Our purpose was to find problems faced by Bangladeshi Consultancy firms. And we wanted to provide
recommendations tailored specifically for Bangladeshi firms. Through our research we identified
possible factors that can impact organizational performance for consultancy firms of Bangladesh.
These factors are Private Ownership, Board Size, Work Transparency, Leadership, Behavioral Control
System, Organizational Structure, and based on these factors we developed our research questions and
hypothesis.

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Research questions:
The consultancy firms industry has not seen massive growth in Bangladesh whereas globally this
industry is worth for 76 Billion Dollar. We wanted to find out the core factors that can change the
current situation. We wanted to develop possible corporate governance factors which can play a major
role in the success for consultancy firms in Bangladesh. Through our literature review and
extensive research on the performance of Bangladeshi consultancy firms we found out some factors
that can affect the performance of consultancy firms. Now we have to find out which of these factors
are significant and which are not significant.

These factors are Organizational structure, Leadership, Board Size, Behavioral control system, Work
transparency, Ownership. So, based on these factors we developed our research questions.

1. Do you think multilayered organizational structure provides better performance in consultancy firm?

2. How can strong leadership provide better performance in consultancy firm?

3. How work transparency provides better performance in consultancy firm?

4. Why behavioral control system provides better performance in consultancy firm?

5. Do you agree small board size provides better performance in consultancy firm?

6. Why do you believe private ownership provides better performance in consultancy firm?

Hypothesis:
Ho. Multilayered organizational structure does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Multilayered organizational structure provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Strong Leadership does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Strong Leadership provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Work Transparency does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Work Transparency provides better performance in consultancy firm.

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Ho. Behavioral Control System does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

H1. Behavioral Control System provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Small board size does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

H1. Small board size provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Private Ownership does not provide better performance in consultancy firm

H1. Private Ownership provides better performance in consultancy firm

Data collection Methodology:

To understand the factors impacting organizational performance and to get answers of our research
questions a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with consultancy firm & its CEOs was
undertaken with a survey questionnaire for our primary data collection. All the data and its output are
analyzed using SPSS Software.

Sampling: Our total research sample size was N=37 in order to find out the results and its
interpretations. We have asked our survey questionnaire to CEOs to find the actual answer of the
questions. The data were collected using the convenience method from 27 CEOs of Bangladeshi
research and consulting firms. A total of 37 respondents who were the CEOs in research and consulting
firms participated in the study. The self-administered survey was conducted from August 24 to 26,
2019 and it was very challenging in terms of collecting the real data for our research. For our research
data analysis interpretations we have used SPSS Software.

SPSS Analysis
Dependent Variable
Our Dependent Variable was Organizational Performance.

Independent Variable
Our Independent variables were:
1. Organizational Structure
2. Strong Leadership
3. Work Transparency
4. Behavioral Control System

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5. Small board size
6. Private Ownership

1.0. Results Interpretation

1.1. Model Regression:

Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

Org_Performance 4.19 .616 37

Leadership 3.84 .898 37

Behavioral_Control_Syste
4.32 .709 37
m

Work_Transparency 4.95 .229 37

Org.Structure 4.14 .422 37

Board_Size 3.82 .434 37

Private_Ownership 3.86 .512 37

1.2. Correlations
Org_Perf Leadershi Behavioral_Contro Work_Transp Org.Stru Board_ Private
ormance p l_System arency cture Size _Owne
rship

Org_Performance 1.000 .157 .301 .271 .647 .065 -.243

Leadership .157 1.000 .303 .091 .529 -.020 -.172

Behavioral_Contro
.301 .303 1.000 .453 .239 -.116 -.176
l_System
Pearso
n Work_Transparen
.271 .091 .453 1.000 .193 -.150 -.067
Correla cy
tion
Org.Structure .647 .529 .239 .193 1.000 .307 -.487

Board_Size .065 -.020 -.116 -.150 .307 1.000 -.048

Private_Ownershi
-.243 -.172 -.176 -.067 -.487 -.048 1.000
p

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 Org_Performance . .176 .035 .052 .000 .351 .074

Leadership .176 . .034 .296 .000 .454 .154

Behavioral_Contro
.035 .034 . .002 .077 .247 .149
l_System

Sig. (1- Work_Transparen

.052 .296 .002 . .127 .188 .346
tailed) cy

Org.Structure .000 .000 .077 .127 . .032 .001

Board_Size .351 .454 .247 .188 .032 . .388

Private_Ownershi
.074 .154 .149 .346 .001 .388 .
p

Org_Performance 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

Leadership 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

Behavioral_Contro
37 37 37 37 37 37 37
l_System

Work_Transparen
N 37 37 37 37 37 37 37
cy

Org.Structure 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

Board_Size 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

Private_Ownershi
37 37 37 37 37 37 37
p

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1.3. Model Summary
Model R R Square Adjusted R Std. Error of the
Square Estimate

1 .746a .557 .469 .449

a. Predictors: (Constant), Private_Ownership, Board_Size,

Work_Transparency, Leadership, Behavioral_Control
System, Org_Structure.
Here we can see that the value of the R Square is .557
which means the independent variables altogether account
for 55% of the variance in the dependent variable which is
organizational performance.

1.4. ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression 7.620 6 1.270 6.291 .000b

1 Residual 6.056 30 .202

Total 13.676 36

a. Dependent Variable: Org_Performance

b. Predictors: (Constant), Private_Ownership, Board_Size, Work_Transparency,
Leadership, Behavioral_Control_System, Org.Structure

From the ANOVA table we can see that the p-value is .000, which is less than .05. This implies that
our Regression model is significant also our dependent variables Private Ownership, Board Size, Work
Transparency, Leadership, Behavioral Control System, and Organizational Structure have significant
impact on our dependent variable organizational performance.

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1.5. Coefficients
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients

B Std. Error Beta

(Constant) 1.255 2.083 .602 .552

Leadership .256 .105 .373 2.433 .021

Behavioral_Control_Sys
.162 .125 .186 1.294 .205
tem
1
Work_Transparency .057 .379 .021 .150 .881

Org.Structure 1.378 .267 .943 5.154 .002

Board_Size .283 .195 -.199 1.453 .157

Private_Ownership .214 .172 .177 1.240 .225

a. Dependent Variable: Org_Performance

Hypothesis 1
From the coefficient table we can see that the p-value for organizational structure is less than .05. So
we reject the null hypothesis which means Multilayered organizational structure provides better
performance in consultancy firm.

Hypothesis 2
From the coefficient table we can see that the P-value for leadership is .021, which is less than .05. So
we can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis, which is,
Strong Leadership provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Hypothesis 3
From the coefficient table we can see that work transparency’s P-value is .881 which is more than .05.
So we accept the null hypothesis which is,
Work Transparency does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

Hypothesis 4
From the coefficient table we can see that the P-value for behavioral control system is .205 which is
higher than .05. So accept the null hypothesis which is,
Behavioral Control System does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

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Hypothesis 5
From the Coefficient table we can see that the P-value for board size is .157, which is less than .05. So
we accept the null hypothesis which is,
Small board size does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

Hypothesis 6
From the Coefficient table we can see that the P-value for Private Ownership is .225, which is less than
.05. So we accept the null hypothesis which is,
Private Ownership does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

Limitations:
There were some limitations of the research. They are given below:

1. In some cases the CEO’s were very busy and it was difficult to get a genuine response.
2. This work was conducted on local consultancy firms of Bangladesh. So this research provides a
local perspective, but global market research industry has grown by 6% to 76$ billion and Us
remains the largest sector for market research services , followed by UK, the Middle East. So
there is a huge importance of the global perspective as the consultancy industry is more
flourished globally rather than Bangladesh.

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Overall Discussion:
According to the research, our independent variable as a group impacts the organizational performance.
However, among those independent variables the organizational structure and Leadership are playing
the significant role. Thus, we recommend the firms to emphasis on organizational structure and
leadership.

Through our research we found out the answers of our research questions.

1. Do you think multilayered organizational structure provides better performance in

consultancy firm?

It's not surprising that multilayered org. Structure was proved as a great strategic path. Because
multilayered structure can make sure that the works are distributed equally and as a result employees
can get enough time to practice creativity. Creativity is the single most important skill that can ensure
a firms future growth.

2. How can strong leadership provide better performance in consultancy firm?

Again it is obvious that leaders pave the way for companies’ growth. Without proper leadership
employees will get confused about organization's goals. Leaders can provide the guidance and it
depends on them where the firm will go and what will be the next step

3. How work transparency provides better performance in consultancy firm?

Small or broad both has its perks. Having a small board is not the only indicator of organizational
performance. Boards which have more number of board members can also be good for the firm
because, more members mean more ideas so the accumulation of their ideas and guidance can provide
the pathway for success.

4. Why behavioral control system provides better performance in consultancy firm?

Private ownership has almost nothing to do with organizational performance. Every type of ownership
has their perks and disadvantages

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5. Do you agree small board size provides better performance in consultancy firm?

Behavioral control system is not the single most important factors for organizational performance. By
developing a proper organizational structure and through fierce leadership Behavioral control can be
achieved. So, firms don't need to focus on behavioral control separately.

6. Why do you believe private ownership provides better performance in consultancy firm?

Again work transparency can be achieved through proper organizational structure. Work transparency
is the result of flawless organizational governance. So this also does not require special focus.

Recommendation/ Strategic Implications:

As the result suggests that organizational structure is the most important factor for organizational
performance in terms of consultancy firm’s performance. So we would recommend the firms for
focusing more on their organizational structure. A multilayered organizational structure would provide
the best results for the firms as it make sure that the employees focus on the work while the CEO can
focus on the big picture for further growth of the firm. After deciding the organizational structure firms
should build a system that encourages work transparency and of strong leadership.

We have found in our research data that most of the CEOs are directly involved with employees when
they are performing their tasks hence the employee sometimes fail to practice their creative and
innovative ideologies in front of the CEOs. Therefore, we believe that it is a strategic implication for
the consulting firms and we recommend that the CEOs should get involved in more with business
trends, strategies, opening new avenues, making polices and plans rather than involving with the
employees directly when there are performing their job in the office in order to enhance the
productivity, efficiency and effectiveness to achieve the organizational goals.

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Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be said that most of the researchers emphasis on their research articles on
Stakeholders Involvement, Corporate Governance, Flexibility through HRM and CSR and business
ethics in order to achieve competitive advantages and build long term and sustainable relationship with
the customers for profit maximization. At the same time, Innovation, Knowledge Management Skills
and Characteristics of the Board of Directors are very important to achieve the organizational goal of a
consultancy firm. Consultancy firms should provide the customized and personalized research output
to their potential customers to fulfill the needs and wants of every individual customers or organization
to attract more customers hence it will help the organization remain profitable and market leader in the
consultancy industry and according to our research data, our independent variable as a group impacts
the organizational performance. However, among those independent variables the organizational
structure is playing the significant role in enchanting the organizational performance of a research and
consulting firms in Bangladesh. Hence, the important recommendations made from the research paper
should be utilized properly in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in consulting and
research firms in Bangladesh.

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Appendix:
Hypothesis:

Ho. Multilayered organizational structure does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Multilayered organizational structure provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Strong Leadership does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Strong Leadership provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Work Transparency does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.
H1. Work Transparency provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Behavioral Control System does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

H1. Behavioral Control System provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Small board size does not provide better performance in consultancy firm.

H1. Small board size provides better performance in consultancy firm.

Ho. Private Ownership does not provide better performance in consultancy firm

H1. Private Ownership provides better performance in consultancy firm

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List of the market research and consulting firms:

Jenex Infosys
Innovision Consulting
Nielsen
Mitra and Associates
Delloite
Magnito Digital
ctMRS
CSMR
LightCastle
SRG Bangladesh
MRB Bangladesh
Research & Resources
Belocal today
Crazy turtle
Query
Connor Int. Bangladesh
PRITI Research And Consultancy
Kantar
Org-Quest Research Ltd.
MRCB Ltd.
Somra MBL Ltd.
PRI
NetMax BD
SPARRSO
Invento Bangladesh
Service & Solution International (SSIL)
Innovative Research & Consultancy (IRC)
BISR Consultants limited
Young Consultants
HDRC
Royal Capital Ltd

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Reed Consultancy Bangladesh
Sirius marketing & social research ltd.
Enroute international ltd
DATA - Data Analysis & Technical Research Limited
Step Media Limited
Magnito Digital Limited
Deloitte Bangladesh

Short notes of our four chosen market research and consulting firms:
1. Org-Quest Research Limited:
 Org-Quest Research Limited (OrQuest) it is a joint venture company with ORG India (pvt) Ltd.
 Org-Quest Research Limited is a research & consulting firm with strong survey research and
analytical skills that bring to bear a blend of insights and Pan-Asian experience of a highly
competent team of professionals.
 It has been providing research services to their valued clients including MNCs, UN agencies,
development partners (World Bank, ADB, IFC-SEDF, Swisscontact, etc.), local conglomerates,
international research agencies, etc. in the country since 1994, using both quantitative and
qualitative techniques.
 It’s a full service market agency with 40 employees and 300 interviewers.
 Org-Quest Research Limited has a strong market research image in Advertising and
telecommunication sectors as well as in research service-solution and university ranking.

2. PRITI Research & Consultancy:

 PRITI Research & Consultancy Limited is a Market, Social & Corporate research &
Consultancy firm.
 It follows the PARTICIPATORY METHODS for conducting all types of research works where
both parties (PRITI Research & Consultancy Services and The Clients) work together for Data
Reliability, Validity, and Authenticity & Overall Better Results.
 PRITI is a result of combined efforts where Young Energetic, Highly Experienced and National
Leading Sector Specialists are engaged.

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3. MRCB Limited:
 Pioneer research agency in Bangladesh with 40+ years of experience.
 Provide customized research solutions in both social and market research arena.
 Full service research organization combining qualitative and quantitative methods.
 Insights obtained through an exhaustive analysis of the Bangladeshi market, its people & their
customs and values.
 MRCB (Marketing and Social Research Consultants Bangladesh) is a part of the Asiatic3Sixty
family, which is the largest communication agency in Bangladesh providing 360 degree
marketing solutions to the biggest brands in the country.

4. Somra-MBL Limited:

 Somra-MBL Limited was founded in 1988, as a private proprietorship concern, to cater to the
ever increasing need for professional survey research services in Bangladesh.
 It has 40 full-time researchers, field and DP officers and administrative & support staff
members, supported by state-of-the art IT and logistical technology for high quality and timely
execution of more than one survey research project at a time.
 The field force comprises a panel of well-experienced part-time field and data processing
personnel all over the country with members exceeding 700.
 SOMRA-MBL Limited conducts a wide range of survey research projects, employing both
quantitative and qualitative methods, and worldwide used techniques like PAPI, CATI, Mobile
(mCAPI and App based), Online, Social Media Research, etc.

Research Questions:

1. Do you think multilayered organizational structure provides better performance in consultancy firm?

2. How can strong leadership provide better performance in consultancy firm?

3. How work transparency provides better performance in consultancy firm?

4. Why behavioral control system provides better performance in consultancy firm?

5. Do you agree small board size provides better performance in consultancy firm?

6. Why do you believe private ownership provides better performance in consultancy firm?
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Survey Questionnaire:
This questionnaire is part of the course, Strategic Management, North South University. The sole
purpose of this questionnaire is to find out the positive relationship between corporate governance and a
consultancy firm’s performance. This survey is completely anonymous and the data collected, will not
be shared with anyone other than the course instructor as the purpose of this study is academic.

1. What kind of Organizational structure do you have?

Flat Structure Multilayered Structure Mixed Structure Other

2. Organizational Structure plays an important role in consultancy firm’s performance

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

3. How would you like to describe your organizational structure in the following scale (Rate on a
scale of 1-5)
Low Implementation
Inefficient High implementation
Ineffective Efficient
Informal Effective
Inconvenient Formal
Convenient
4. I believe; strong leadership can boost up a firm’s performance.

Not at all Absolutely

1 2 3 4 5

5. Please select the answers according to your preference about factors determining good leader

Factor Not Not Likely Neutral Likely Very Likely

s likely
at all
Responsible
Inspiring
Ethical
Hard working
Honest
Good communicator

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 6. The number of members in your firm’s board are:
Less than 4 4 to 6 7-9 More than 9

7. Please answer the following questions according to your preference.

Statements SD D N A SA
Small boards spend less time in discussions and make faster decisions
Directors are more committed, candid and engaged in small boards
It’s easier to prepare materials for meetings in a small board
Directors have greater ownership and accountability in a small board
It’s easier for small boards to reach a consensus
Meetings tend to be less formal, which makes it easier for board directors
to open up and share ideas in a small board

8. The type of ownership in my firm is:

Private Ownership Partnership Corporation Joint Venture

9. How would you like to describe Private Ownership in the following scale

Risky Advantageous
Less Control Strong Control
Ineffective Effective
Low Return High Return

10. I think Behavioral Control system is better for a firm’s development.

Not at All Absolutely

1 2 3 4 5

11. How much satisfied are you with your firm’s control system?

12. Work transparency makes the performance of the firm better.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

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