Combination of KPIs and CEO’s messages: effective employee communication targeted at increasing the share of female managers

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a source of competitiveness that enhances a company’s reputation, promotes innovation and contributes to consumer purchasing behavior. Companies increase the number of women managers to strengthen CSR. However, the global average share of women managers is 28.2%, and in Japan, it remains low at 12.9%. One reason this situation has not improved is that existing research has focused on the effects and reasons for the share of female managers, and surprisingly, there is little knowledge about implementation. This study aims to fills that gap. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the research question, “Will adding a message from the CEO to a key performance indicator (KPI) that increases the share of female managers improve employee attitudes?” The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial in an online survey environment among 800 full-time employees of Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. in Japan. Findings The result showed that simply presenting the KPI, “share of female managers,” was unlikely to impact employee attitudes positively. It was also desirable to convey the CEO’s message to customers. Practical implications Executives should adopt a corporate narrative strategy when communicating KPIs to their organizations. Adding the CEO’s words conveys the true meaning behind the numbers, elicits empathy and positively impacts employees’ attitudes. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to apply corporate narrative strategy findings to the effects of internal marketing on the share of female managers.