Corporate Purpose in Comparative Perspective: The Role of Governance

Ruth V. Aguilera ()
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Ruth V. Aguilera: D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Strategy Science, 2023, vol. 8, issue 2, 193-201

Abstract: Corporate purpose has become a central part of doing business as usual and in the social movement to involve corporations in solving complex societal and environmental challenges. In this essay, I first deconstruct what corporate purpose means from a sociological perspective, and I submit that it is important to identify to whom that purpose is targeted. Second, I seek to make the point that corporate purpose is not universal in that there is not a one-rule-fits-all template on how to develop corporate purpose. I draw on comparative corporate governance, stakeholder management, and institutional theory arguments to illustrate how corporate purpose means different things in different societies and that the departure point of the emanation of corporate purpose varies across countries. This differential meaning is explained in part by the institutional setting as well as very different societal expectations of corporations. Finally, building on insights from existing corporate governance research, I argue that stakeholder engagement can be a useful tool toward effectively deploying corporate purpose.

Keywords: corporate governance; corporate purpose; cross-national; stakeholder management; institutional theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:orstsc:v:8:y:2023:i:2:p:193-201

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