Grueber Case Study: Institutional Investors

Grueber has the opportunity to develop an effective investor communications strategy to revitalize and improve the relationships that Steelcase has with investors. First, his targeted constituents should be the most beneficial institutional investors and intermediaries. Second, he can develop a strategy to attract these constituents by leveraging the media, the Internet, and blogs. Finally, the consistent message should be that of staying true to the well-known corporate values with a renewed commitment to proactive financial planning, cost controls, and transparency.
Target Investor Constituencies
Steelcase experienced high turn-over among institutional investors, who not only provide stable investing but also have the potential to serve as active participants in the business, or as one article calls it “active ownership” (McNultey & Nordberg, 2016). Grueber should focus resources on identifying the institutional investors who are most likely to have an industry interest in Steelcase, or those who had an interest in the past. Subsequently, he should create a
Specifically, he needs to communicate the company’s commitment to its core values that investors currently value, as well as a commitment to change in alignment with constituents’ needs. Research shows that there is significant correlation between increased performance (addressing actual financial planning and internal control issues), increased recognition among investors (increasing access to management), and decreased information asymmetry (increasing transparency and decreasing disparate messaging) (Li & You, 2015). Finally, included in the message should be a change to the board of directors, broadening representation of stockholders who will build and maintain relationships with analysts (Hoffmann & Fieseler,