Title: Mission statements and company financial performance revisited

Authors: Pradeep Dharmadasa; Yasantha Maduraapeurma; Siriyama Kanthi Herath

Addresses: Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, CO, Sri Lanka. ' Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, CO, Sri Lanka. ' School of Business Administration, Clark Atlanta University, 223 James P. Brawley Drive at Fair Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30314, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to explore the components in the content of mission statements and investigate the impact of such statements on company performance. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to explore the mission statements and their impact on performance respectively. Data were obtained from the companies listed in Colombo Security Exchange in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that self-concept, concern for survival, and company products and services are predominant in the contents of mission statements. Moreover, considerable attention is paid to include a staff/employee component in the contents of current mission statements. Finally, it was found that the presence of a mission statement has no impact on company performance. Therefore, managers must be aware that these dominating components when crafting their mission statements.

Keywords: mission statements; financial performance; mission statements; publicly traded companies; Sri Lanka; firm performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMFA.2012.047855

International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting, 2012 Vol.4 No.3, pp.314 - 324

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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