Developing ideal mission statements: lessons learned from top global organizations

Abstract

A mission statement is the most visible element of an organizational strategy; it ought to be effective in terms of reflecting its purpose. Particularly, top global brands, corporations, and business schools are expected to have modular mission statements that comply with the definition of an ideal mission statement. To determine how closely they adhere to the components of an ideal mission statement, this study compares the actual mission statements of the top organizations with the desired ideal mission statement. The study employed a meta-content analysis approach to analyze the mission statements of 400 organizations from diverse sectors, including Interbrand’s top 100 global brands, Financial Times ranked top 100 business schools, and top 100 conventional and top 100 Islamic banks. For each type of organization and for the whole sample, mission statements were analyzed for how many and what components they frequently include in their mission statements. The results show that only 5 percent of these organizations have perfect mission statements indicating majority do not prioritize creating mission statements that contain all the necessary components. The components such as self-concept, products and services, and customers were the most frequently communicated concerns, indicating a high level of importance on conveying identity, offerings, and relationships with customers whereas concerns for employees, public image, and technology were severely overlooked. The findings suggest a discrepancy between academia and industry regarding what constitutes an ideal mission statement inviting further research to better understand the components of an ideal mission statement and how they align with real-world statements. This research assists organizations in identifying gaps in their mission statements and aligning them with their organizational values, goals, and strategies by providing thorough theoretical and practical implications in the end.