Trends of Corporate Mission Statements: From pursuing profit to distinctive and social value

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
Gang-Hoon Seo ◽  
Munehiko Itoh
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Past Study ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
High Performers

Abstract A mission statement has a significant meaning as the initial and essential step in a company’s strategic planning process. Previous studies have pointed out the necessity of monitoring and longitudinal study of corporate mission statements as they should be continuously revised against changes in companies’ strategies and business environment. This study aims to shed light on what types of strategies and values are currently highlighted in companies’ mission statements in comparison with the findings of a well-known previous study. Therefore, this study conducted a content analysis of 491 Fortune 500 companies’ mission statements. As a result, we found that “philosophy” is mostly highlighted and “profitability” is not emphasized in contemporary companies’ mission statements. Compared to the past study, these findings imply that there have been dramatic changes in the content of corporate mission statements. Besides, this study divided 491 Fortune 500 companies into two groups, high performers and low performers, according to their Fortune ranking and investigated significant differences between high and low performers using t-tests. The high performers were found to more often highlight “selfconcept” and “public image” than low performers. However, the difference in mean scores between high and low performers has become smaller than in the past finding. In particular, there is no statistical difference in mission statement component numbers between high and low performers. These findings can provide futher understanding about changes of companies’ strategic emphasis and the nature of corporate mission statements. This study provides a comparative insight for practitioners making company mission statements.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Mission Statements of Chinese and American Fortune 500 Companies: A Study from the Perspective of Linguistics

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 4905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Lin ◽  
Yingchang Huang ◽  
Ruojin Zhu ◽  
Yue Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mission Statement ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Appraisal System ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Chinese Companies ◽  
The Social

A mission statement is an important instrument for strategic management for an enterprise. How to establish a mission statement and how to leverage its roles in conveying the vision of and leading the long-term and sustainable growth of the enterprise are critical in strategic planning for enterprises. The current study adopted a corpus analysis method and built a corpus of mission statements by selecting the mission statements of 100 companies each from Chinese and American companies in the 2017 Fortune 500 companies. Through the analysis of high-frequency words obtained from the corpus based on the appraisal system approach from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), we attempted to identify the characteristics discerning the mission statements of Chinese and American companies. Our results showed that (1) the distribution patterns of evaluation resource words of Chinese and American companies are similar; (2) Chinese companies highlight innovation, society and development of the enterprise, while American companies emphasize customers and product or service; (3) both Chinese and American enterprises highly concern survival, philosophy and public image; (4) American companies pay more attention to stakeholders, especially primary social stakeholders, while Chinese companies’ attention is inclined to secondary social stakeholders. It is concluded that the mission statements of Chinese companies are society oriented and emphasize the social roles of an organization, showing a corporate pertinence to a lesser extent, while American companies’ mission statements pay more attention to customers and partner relationships, which can be seen as the American companies’ market and individual orientation.

Does institutional theory explain integrated reporting adoption of Fortune 500 companies?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Merve Kılıç ◽  
Ali Uyar ◽  
Cemil Kuzey ◽  
Abdullah S. Karaman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies

PurposeThe objective of this study is to investigate whether the institutional environment is associated with the adoption of integrated reporting.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of the study is based on the firms included in the list of Fortune Global 500. The logistic regression analysis was run to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicated that the code-law orientation and strength of the institutional quality are significantly associated (i.e. positively and negatively, respectively) with the integrated reporting of Fortune 500 companies. Firms are motivated for more transparency in stakeholder-oriented and weakly regulated contexts. Thus, stakeholder pressure is more influential than shareholder interest in motivating or forcing firms to issue integrated reports. Besides, there appears to be a trade-off between the public sector and the private sector in terms of ensuring an accountable and transparent business environment. If the public sector does not undertake its role in ensuring a transparent business environment, the private sector fills the gap. The results are robust to alternative sampling and methodologies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study implied that the stakeholder orientation of countries fosters the transparency and accountability of firms. Corporate behavior is impacted by the institutional strength or weakness of nations. The institutional theory provides an appropriate ground to understand drivers of corporate reporting practices of firms beyond firm-level characteristics.Practical implicationsThe adoption of integrated reporting framework by Fortune 500 companies can be leveraged to alleviate concerns about their social and environmental impacts. Policy-makers in the countries which have a weak institutional environment force or encourage their firms to increasingly meet the transparency and accountability demands of society.Social implicationsThe research findings might play an encouraging role in that various stakeholders (i.e. customers, public, civil organizations and press) should undertake active roles and responsibilities to encourage firms to behave in socially and environmentally responsible ways.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literature by examining the influence of the institutional environment on the adoption of integrated reporting, using recent international data, and focusing on the largest companies according to the Fortune's annual Global 500 list. This study is one of the first to examine the association between a set of governance characteristics (i.e. board size, board independence and board diversity) and integrated reporting adoption.

scholarly journals Scenario-based mission statements

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Raphael Dietz ◽  
Dan Teodorovici ◽  
Sigrid Busch ◽  
Markus Blesl ◽  
Michael Ruddat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Inertial Forces ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
Framework Conditions

Using a planning process for the Stuttgart Neckar Valley as a case study, this paper analyzes the urban inertial forces that counteract the transformation of energy infrastructure areas in the context of the energy transition. In order to overcome these forces, a scenario-based mission statement was developed in which spatial scenarios were derived from energy scenarios and finally summarized in a concept plan for the Neckar Valley. The mission statement was developed following an analytical-deliberative and transdisciplinary approach. The approach to mission statement development presented here can respond flexibly to changing framework conditions and thus serve as a model for other cities with large-scale energy infrastructures in transition.

scholarly journals Mission Statements in Port Authorities: Empirical Analysis of Content in Spanish Port System

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-245
Author(s):  
Ignacio De la Peña Zarzuelo ◽  
María Jesús Freire-Seoane ◽  
Beatriz López-Bermudez
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Port Authorities ◽  
Port System

Introduction: A structured Strategic Planning process has been developed in the Spanish Port System since 1990s. One of the first elements of this process is the formulation of the mission statement of each Port Authority. Aim: An in-depth review of the mission statements of the Spanish Port Authorities is carried out in this research, and mission statements are assessed from a theoretical point of view. The goal of the study is to discuss how mission statements of these entities are aligned with the international standards. Methods: Mission statements are captured from public sources. Two criteria are used for the assessment: its content (analyzing if the mission statement reflects nine key elements usually considered internationally), and its length (number of words). As the first component is qualitative, a Delphi method was used in the assessment of this element. Results: The mission statements of these Port Authorities reflect more frequently than the benchmark omparison made by over 50 companies seven of the nine key elements. The only two fields in which Spanish Port Authorities show a negative gap are those related to "technology” and “concern of employees”. In terms of length, the average of 32 words is shorter than the 50-100 words recommended by some authors. Conclusions: The Strategic Planning in the Spanish Port Authorities is a long and well -structured process. Port Authorities are essentially market-oriented public organisms and their mission statements seems to be properly formulated following business practices in terms of their content.

Capital Budgeting: A 1990 Study Of Fortune 500 Company Practices

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Cooper ◽  
Michael F. Cornick ◽  
Alonzo Redmon
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Capital Budgeting ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Internal Rate Of Return ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Wide Acceptance ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Business Conditions ◽  
Area Of Concern

Capital budgeting investment decisions are fertile ground for researchers because these decisions both involve the use of a large portion of a firms assets and require predictions of the future. Various techniques are used to analyze capital budgeting projects. Among these are (1) net present value (2) internal rate of return (3) payback and (40 several averaging methods. This paper seeks to determine what methods are currently used by major American firms to determine if the more theoretically correct methods are employed and how firms implement and monitor the techniques used. The authors surveyed the Fortune 500 Companies and received some surprising responses. Replies from firms indicated that most firms use the theoretically superior discounting methods when analyzing capital budgeting problems. However, almost 21% of the respondents stated that payback was their preferred method for analysis. The study further showed that payback, while popular, was used for relatively small projects. The study revealed one major area of concern which was that of review and feedback. Approximately 20% of the firms surveyed had no review mechanism and thus may be making poor decisions because of failure to adjust their models as business conditions change. In summary, the study has two surprising findings regarding capital budgeting. First, almost 21% of the responding firms used payback as the preferred method of analysis. While most of the projects where payback was applied were small, the wide acceptance of payback was surprising. Second, and perhaps of greater importance, was the failure by approximately 20% of the firms to employ a review procedure. Without such a procedure, those firms will be unable to adapt quickly to changes in the business environment.

scholarly journals Influence of Customer Focused Mission Statement on Customer Satisfaction

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 1031-1038
Author(s):  
Chijioke Nwachukwu ◽  
Pavel Žufan
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Satisfaction Index ◽  
Customer Perspective

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of customer‑focused mission statements on customer satisfaction in selected cell phone manufacturing companies in the United States. The study employed content analysis for the mission statement and data from America customer satisfaction index (ACSI). In analysing our data, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression techniques were used. The result showed that product and service, technology, philosophy, self‑concept, and public image mission statement components are strongly positively correlated with customer satisfaction. Customer, survival, growth and profitability and market mission statement components are insignificantly negatively correlated with customer satisfaction. The study, therefore, recommends that companies that want to remain competitive by enhancing customer satisfaction should formulate mission statements from a customer perspective so that they include product and service, technology, philosophy, self‑concept, and public image components. The main limitation of the study represents the sample size and structure. This study empirically investigated the correlation and association of nine mission statement components with customer satisfaction.

scholarly journals Organizational Mission Statement Guidelines Revisited

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward L. Powers
Keyword(s):  
Reference Point ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Organizational Mission ◽  
Planning Framework ◽  
New Guidelines

This paper provides appropriate guidelines for writing organizational mission statements. A planning framework is presented as a reference point for seeing where a mission statement fits into the planning process. Examples are provided of guidelines typically recommended for use in writing a mission statement, and some samples of organization mission statements are presented in order to illuminate the variety of approaches used in practice. New guidelines for mission statement content are recommended.

India’s Super 50 companies and their mission statement: a multifold perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neetu Yadav ◽  
Vineet Sehgal
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the content of mission statements of India’s Super 50 companies, selected from Forbes India magazine, on multiple aspects such as components, stakeholders’ inclusion, content readability and strategic orientation. Design/methodology/approach A total sample of 29 companies was chosen for the study, whose mission statement details were available on their official websites. These firms’ mission statement was rated on the basis of nine selected components of what constitutes a “good mission statement.” Further, industry-level analysis was also carried out to measure significant differences between manufacturing and service industries. Data were analyzed using frequency analysis, average and t-statistics. Gunning Fog index was also calculated to measure content readability. Findings The results show that Indian firms largely focus on their customers as major stakeholders while defining their mission and emphasize upon values and philosophy, products or services offered, and integration of technology in production or processes. There is no statistically significant difference identified between the average mean value of components for sample manufacturing and service firms. Research limitations/implications The study is cross-sectional in nature; however, a few firms redesign their mission according to need; therefore, a detailed longitudinal study of a few firms could open up new paradigms. The findings are based on sample firms selected from Forbes India, so generalization needs to be done with complete caution. Originality/value The study looks ahead of the most popular of David’s (1989) nine crucial components of mission statements, taking into account major shifts in the business environment. It also attempts to fill a contextual research gap by analyzing the mission statements of top Indian firms. Three crucial elements – “strategic decision,” “stakeholder concerns” and “critical success factors” – have been identified for Indian firms that define their mission statement.

Women on Fortune 500 Boards

1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd D. Elgart
Keyword(s):  
Fortune 500 ◽  
The Past ◽  
Female Directors ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Size Type

Over the past decade, the ranks of female directors in Fortune 500 companies have increased by only 2.3 percent. Recent studies show a relationship between the number of female directors and a variety of corporate characteristics, such as size, type of industry, and length of a boardmember's term. The author analyzes the reasons given by 126 survey respondents of the Fortune 500 for not recruiting more female directors and discusses the perceptions of female boardmembers about their own futures on their boards.

scholarly journals Content Analyses on Mission Statements of the Commercial Banks in Kyrgyzstan

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyil Najimudinova
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Mission Statements ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Strategic Management Process

The concept of mission is still popular both in academic environment and business practices. Mission statements have been accepted as an important part of the strategic management process for organizations of all types; be it public sector, not-for-profit, private, for profit, a multinational or a SME. This paper aims to study the content of mission statements of Top10 commercial banks in Kyrgyzstan. The main objective of this study is to identify whether the mission statements of commercial banks contain components suggested Pierce and David (1987) and Bart and Tabone (1999). Data was based on content analysis of the mission statements and other related statements found on commercial banks’ web sites. Another secondary data on general profile of commercial banks are obtained from their web-sites and other open to public resources. The results show all (11) numbers of components are not incorporated in the mission statements of commercial banks totally. According to obtained data it was done Top 3 rating of commercial banks according to their mission statements. The level of popularity of mission statement components displays the following: products or services, geographic location, statement of purpose and customers are the most of frequent occurrence components. Components like concern for public image, concern for growth and profit, and philosophy are less popular mission components. In the future this study can throw fresh light on researches on other industries and to make relationship between good mission statements and the performance of commercial banks.

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