Title: An exploratory investigation of mission statements of banks in South Eastern European countries: customers vs. society?

Authors: Alexandra Kontolaimou, Dionysios Psallidas, Anastasia Pseiridis

Addresses: Department of Economics, University of Patras, University Campus, GR 265 04 Rio, Patras, Greece. ' Department of Economics, University of Patras, University Campus, GR 265 04 Rio, Patras, Greece. ' Department of Economics, University of Patras, University Campus, GR 265 04 Rio, Patras, Greece

Abstract: We investigate mission statements of 129 commercial banks in ten South Eastern European countries by examining their websites. Only one in four banks discloses a properly labelled (|explicit|) mission statement. We then study |implicit| mission statements, seeking components of mission statements. The findings suggest that the banks examined posit higher emphasis on customers and |pragmatic| aspects of their activity and lower on society, values, and |societal| employee motivation, which seems quite contrary to the view that long-term profitability goes hand in hand with efforts to serve the interests of all stakeholders groups, which are affected by, and/or affect, company activities.

Keywords: mission statements; banks; content analysis; south-eastern Europe; stakeholders; bank customers; financial services.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFSM.2007.011674

International Journal of Financial Services Management, 2007 Vol.2 No.1/2, pp.82 - 99

Published online: 14 Dec 2006 *

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