Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’ sensemaking role
Purpose – This study highlights the instrumental role of the mission statement as a tool used by managers to shape value congruence to achieve enhanced employee performance levels. Design/methodology/approach – A variance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data obtained f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/1/Toh%20Mission%20statement.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848802157617217536 |
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| author | Toh, Seong-Yuen * Tehseen, Shehnaz * Ali, B. M. Cheok, Jason * Grigoriou, N. Opute, J. |
| author_facet | Toh, Seong-Yuen * Tehseen, Shehnaz * Ali, B. M. Cheok, Jason * Grigoriou, N. Opute, J. |
| author_sort | Toh, Seong-Yuen * |
| building | SU Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose – This study highlights the instrumental role of the mission statement as a tool used by managers to
shape value congruence to achieve enhanced employee performance levels.
Design/methodology/approach – A variance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse the
data obtained from a sample of 123 managers working in private organisations in Malaysia.
Findings – The management sensemaking approach is useful in mission statement research. Managers’
involvement in clarifying the mission statement to various firm stakeholders, especially employees, is the
strongest predictor of value congruency between employees and the firm, leading to improved levels of
employee behavioural performance. Managers can influence value congruency through two processes:
(1) guiding and shaping employees’ values and (2) adapting the mission statement’s contents.
Research limitations/implications – Future studies can consider the impact of managerial role modelling
on employees’ value alignment with the firm in longitudinal studies. Other aspects of alignment offer further
research opportunities, for example, HR policy alignment and alignment of marketing and operation strategies
with the mission statement.
Practical implications – Managers should move beyond treating the mission statement as a management tool.
Instead, it is a firm philosophy that reflects managers’ words and deeds and exemplifies their philosophical ideals.
Originality/value – Despite three decades of research into the relationship between the mission statement and performance, the results have been mixed. Therefore, this study adopts a sensemaking approach to research the mission-performance relationship underpinned by the resource-based view (RBV) theory. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:18:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | sunway-1906 |
| institution | Sunway University |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:18:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Emerald |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | sunway-19062021-11-17T09:17:46Z http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/ Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’ sensemaking role Toh, Seong-Yuen * Tehseen, Shehnaz * Ali, B. M. Cheok, Jason * Grigoriou, N. Opute, J. HF Commerce Purpose – This study highlights the instrumental role of the mission statement as a tool used by managers to shape value congruence to achieve enhanced employee performance levels. Design/methodology/approach – A variance-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data obtained from a sample of 123 managers working in private organisations in Malaysia. Findings – The management sensemaking approach is useful in mission statement research. Managers’ involvement in clarifying the mission statement to various firm stakeholders, especially employees, is the strongest predictor of value congruency between employees and the firm, leading to improved levels of employee behavioural performance. Managers can influence value congruency through two processes: (1) guiding and shaping employees’ values and (2) adapting the mission statement’s contents. Research limitations/implications – Future studies can consider the impact of managerial role modelling on employees’ value alignment with the firm in longitudinal studies. Other aspects of alignment offer further research opportunities, for example, HR policy alignment and alignment of marketing and operation strategies with the mission statement. Practical implications – Managers should move beyond treating the mission statement as a management tool. Instead, it is a firm philosophy that reflects managers’ words and deeds and exemplifies their philosophical ideals. Originality/value – Despite three decades of research into the relationship between the mission statement and performance, the results have been mixed. Therefore, this study adopts a sensemaking approach to research the mission-performance relationship underpinned by the resource-based view (RBV) theory. Emerald 2021-09 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_4 http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/1/Toh%20Mission%20statement.pdf Toh, Seong-Yuen * and Tehseen, Shehnaz * and Ali, B. M. and Cheok, Jason * and Grigoriou, N. and Opute, J. (2021) Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’ sensemaking role. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. ISSN 1356-3289 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CCIJ-03-2021-0031/full/html |
| spellingShingle | HF Commerce Toh, Seong-Yuen * Tehseen, Shehnaz * Ali, B. M. Cheok, Jason * Grigoriou, N. Opute, J. Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’ sensemaking role |
| title | Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| title_full | Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| title_fullStr | Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| title_short | Mission statement effectiveness: Investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| title_sort | mission statement effectiveness: investigating managers’
sensemaking role |
| topic | HF Commerce |
| url | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1906/1/Toh%20Mission%20statement.pdf |