Corporate performance: the paradox of UK Plcs' management perceptions

Grouping of Blue Chip companies has become a popular pastime. But bringing together Kwik Save, Tarmac, Ladbrokes and National Grid as a group of superior performing companies perhaps stretches the imagination a little. To suggest further that Cadbury, Tesco, BP and Reuters are myopic might challenge preconceptions. This however is the finding of information gathered from Britain's top senior executives. The article highlights the self-perceptions by senior executives of their company's performance and compares this with the perceptions of other senior executives and expert analysts. The results highlight the contrariness that exists between the UK's senior managers and suggests that this is a further reason for the UK's failure to close the international competitiveness gap.