New publication on the topic of "Corporate Purpose"

Many companies today formulate their "purpose". This is the overarching meaning and purpose towards which all their activities are orientated. This promises many positive effects, but also has its downsides. There are also special challenges in the practical implementation of purpose-orientation. Nicole Steller and Guido Möllering have analysed this in more detail in a systematic literature review, which has now been published.

The study is part of Nicole Steller's doctoral project, which has now been successfully completed. The results help us to see purpose as more than just "hype" and to take a more differentiated look at the effects associated with it. One important realisation is that the purpose orientation is not only ambivalent (advantages and disadvantages), but that the content of purpose is also typically ambiguous. (Everyone understands it slightly differently).

"The ambiguity of purpose is functional because it facilitates connectivity," argue Steller & Möllering. "But it can also lead to misunderstandings, conflicts and disappointments." Purpose as a facet of partnership-based company management is a dynamic project. Behind a short claim such as "Strong rail for Germany" (Deutsche Bahn) lies a continuous process of mutual understanding.

The article was nominated for the Best Student Paper Award by the AOM Social Issues in Management Division in 2024 and is now available open access (free of charge) in the European Management Review. A study on Chief Purpose Officers by Nicole Steller and Albena Björck was previously published in Long Range Planning.