Mission Statement Quality and Financial Performance

Mission statements are widely considered to be important to business success. This paper reports on the relationship of mission statement quality (based on the inclusion of stakeholders, components, and the meeting of objectives) to financial performance. Our findings indicate that most elements in mission statements are not associated with firm performance. Mission statements that include phrases that refer to what many may view as the fundamental rules of business have a significant positive relationship with financial performance: be concerned with your employees, be responsible to the society in which you do business, and emphasize and communicate your value system.