New research involving more than 1,000 New Zealand CEOs provides fresh insight into the role leadership, governance and sustainability play in creating long-term organisational value.

The Creating Long-Term Sustainable Value report draws on responses from 1,089 CEOs across New Zealand, examining board effectiveness, CEO remuneration and motivation, environmental and social investment, and the factors that support, or constrain, long-term value creation.

BusinessNZ supported the research, with 96 BusinessNZ member CEOs taking part.

A dedicated BusinessNZ dashboard provides a closer look at those responses, comparing the views of BusinessNZ CEOs with the wider for-profit CEO sample.

The BusinessNZ results highlight some notable differences. BusinessNZ CEOs placed greater emphasis on organisational complexity and risk when considering CEO remuneration, with 81% favouring sustained rather than annual performance and 75% favouring performance-linked pay.

There was also strong support for sustainability investment, with 84% saying environmental and social investment adds value to their organisation. When asked what government and industry bodies could do to support greater investment, financial incentives ranked highest at 56%, followed by clear and consistent reporting standards at 53%.

The findings also identify opportunities to strengthen governance. Some 45% of BusinessNZ CEOs said more frequent reflection on board effectiveness could better enable leadership and organisational performance, while 38% identified a greater focus on long-term rather than short-term concerns.

Read the full Creating Long-Term Sustainable Value report to explore the findings from CEOs across New Zealand.

Explore the BusinessNZ CEO dashboard to see how the views of 96 BusinessNZ CEOs compare with the wider for-profit sector.