JMP:

AMS The question we continue to

3,4 ask: How do organisations
define their mission?
268
Carolyn Strong
Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff
UK

Introduction
Current thought on mission statements is largely based on work conducted in
the 1980s, which took forward Druckers question of the mid-1970s What is
Our Business? which is synonymous with asking What is our Mission
(David, 1989). Mission is the organisations vision of its future position and how
it will be achieved. Many organisations define the basic reason for their
existence in terms of their mission statement (Jauch and Glueck, 1988), using
the statement to legitimise the organisation, providing a statement to all
stakeholders of what the company stands for its purpose, image and
character. Organisation activities must be defined broadly enough to provide
performance targets, and direct resources to achieve synergy, providing
realistic frameworks for forecasting strategic planning and goal setting (Abell
et al., 1980). These decisions require careful assessment of the firms distinctive
competencies (Hamel & Prahalad, 1990) and a decision to focus on what the
organisation does best (Webster, 1992). A major function of the mission
statement is to make clear what the organisation will do and what business
they are in, its role is to communicate the set of values and beliefs that put the
customer first in the organisation decision making process, and to communicate
the value proposition of that culture to internal and external stakeholders
(Webster, 1992).
How do organisations define their business through mission statements? A
mission statement should contain goals, differentiation factors, identify the
organisations aspirations and define the role of all stakeholder groups (Ackoff,
1986), additionally they should establish the behaviour standards required to
achieve the defined goals (Campbell and Yeung, 1991).

Journal of Marketing Practice:
Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 3
No. 4, 1997, pp. 268-283. MCB
University Press, 1355-2538
Research Premises
A mission statement defines the purpose of the organisation, it acts as the
invisible hand that guides people within the organisation so that they can
work independently and yet collectively to achieve desired levels of
organisation performance (Kotler et al., 1996). Mission statements must be
market orientated;
 they must define the strategic intent of the organisation define the Defining
business in which they operate, the philosophy to which they work, the organisational
customer they serve, their needs, wants, and expected levels of missions
satisfaction, and performance goals,
the mission statement must define critical factors for successful
achievement of this strategic intent, and
269
the role of internal stakeholders in the achievement of these objectives
and goals.
This research reports on an examination of the components of the mission
statements of a large cross section of organisations, with the objective of
assessing how strategic direction is illustrated, how critical success factors to
achieve this direction are defined, and the role of stakeholders in achieving the
proclaimed mission.

The Concept of Mission and Mission Statements

A mission statement is a clear definition of the mission and purpose of the
organisation, it may be referred to as the organisation creed statement,
statement of purpose, statement of general principles, statement of corporate
intent or vision statement, often interchangeably. Whatever the terminology, a
mission statement is widely recognised by managers and academics as the first
step in strategic planning (David, 1989).
Mission statements are an essential building block of the strategic
management process, a business is not defined by its name, statutes or articles
of incorporation, it is defined by its mission only a clear definition of the
mission and purpose is the organisation able to achieve clear and realistic
business objectives (Drucker, 1973). Strategic decision makers must determine
the basic goals, characteristics and philosophies that will shape the strategic
perspective of the firm (Pearce, 1982), this results in the company mission which
should guide strategic implementation. Many definitions of the mission
statement exist, there is an interactive use of these definitions but it appears
that no two academics have agreed upon a single absolute definition. The
working definition for the purpose of this research is that provided by Campbell
and Yeung (1991) which states that a mission statement should be an enduring
statement of the underlying principles of the organisation its purpose, its
strategy, and the standards and the values expected to achieve these, as detailed
in figure 1.
This definition states that mission is an issue which involves both the culture
(heart) and the strategy (minds) of the organisation, requiring commitment and
enthusiasm among employees, which comes from a commitment to the
principles on which the company operates (Campbell, 1989). From this
perceptive it can be theorised that mission statements define the organisations
strategic direction, the role of internal and external stakeholders and the critical
success factors required to achieve the aims outlined.
JMP: Purpose Strategy Behaviour Values
AMS
3,4 To satisfy A definition of The The beliefs and moral
Shareholders what business Behavioural principles of the
Stakeholders are we in? Standards organisation, culture &
Position required to philosophy
strategy convert 1&2 which provides
270 Strategic into action meaning to
Competitive individuals, give
advantage meaning to work; work
gives meaning to life.

Figure 1.
Campbell and Yeungs
definition of mission A STRONG MISSION EXISTS WHEN THE 4 ELEMENTS
Source: The Ashridge REINFORCE EACH OTHER
Model (Campbell and
Yeung, 1991)
Source: The Ashridge Model, Campbell and Yeung (1991)

The Role of Mission Statements in Strategic Planning.

The definition of an organisations mission is at the foundation of strategic
planning, business strategies cannot be developed until fundamental decisions
are made about the business the organisation is in (McTavish, 1995). Strategic
decision makers must determine the basic goals, characteristics and
philosophies that will shape the strategic perspective of the firm (Pearce, 1982),
this results in the company mission which forms the starting point of strategic
planning. Long term planning encourages longer term horizons (Mintzberg and
Quinn, 1996), the classic view of strategic planning is that a formalised
approach enables the firm to monitor and anticipate environmental change and
constraints, it also expresses the need for explicit considerations of the core
business, purpose, coherence, direction (Brownlie, 1985), success factors and
the role of stakeholders. Mission statements provide the basis for strategic
planning which is crucial if planning is to be successful (Lipton, 1996).

Literature derived mission statement components

Academic work which proposes the key components for an effective mission
statement undertaken to date have been listed by Morris (1996) and are outlined
as; Abell et al. (1980) suggests three components customer groups to be
satisfied; the customer needs to be satisfied; and how to satisfy these needs.
Want (1986) considered five components including purpose; principle business
aims; corporate identity; policies of the company; and corporate values. Kotler
(1984) also suggests five components; the firms history; current preferences of
managers and owners; environmental considerations; available resources; and
distinctive competencies. In addition Piercy and Morgan (1994) defines four
components of a mission organisational philosophy, product-market domain; Defining
organisational key values; and critical factors for success. organisational
Pearce and David (1987) established that mission statements in high missions
performing firms often include six of eight literature derived components, in
1989 David increased this list to nine, to include the following most widely used
and implemented components: Customers who are the firms customers?
Products or services what are the firms major products or services; Location 271
where does the firm compete; Technology what is the firms basic
technology? Concern for Survival what is the firms commitment to economic
objectives?
Philosophy what are the firms basic beliefs, values, aspirations and
philosophical priorities; Self concept what are the firms major strengths and
competitive advantages? Concern of public image what are the firms public
responsibilities and what image is desired? Concern for employees what is the
firms attitude towards its employees?

The Survey
The sample of mission statements examined consisted of 220 statements
obtained from a mailing to the chief executive officers of all Times UK 1000
firms. The letter asked for a copy of the firms mission statement, explaining
that a mission statement may also be called an enduring statement of the firms
creed, a statement of the firms business principles, a statement defining the
organisations business, a statement of purpose, statement of philosophy, or
statement of beliefs.
A total of 242 (24%) responses were received, 220 (22%) provided a formal
mission statement, and 22 (2%) indicated that their firm had not developed a
mission statement. Among the 220 organisations providing a formal mission
statement, there were 100 manufacturing firms, 102 services firms and 18 retail
organisations. Although retail organisations form a small percentage of the
responses, this simply reflects the number of retailers in The Times Top 1000
organisations in the UK.
Content analysis was used to evaluate each mission statement. This is a
useful technique for developing an objective, systematic, quantitative and
generalizable description of the mission statement. It involved taking each
statement, defining categories based on the researchers independent
judgement, and measuring the frequency of appearance of the categories using
coding rules developed by the researchers, as recommended by Fearing (1954).
This methodological approach allows the researcher to analyse organisational
communications, as postulated by Kassarjian, 1977;
objectivity minimises (but never eliminates) the possibility that the
findings reflect the analysts subjective predisposition rather than the
actual content of the mission statements under review,
a systematic approach eliminates biased analysis, securing data relevant
to the issue at hand,
JMP: the quantification of the content of a mission statement implies that the
AMS data be amenable to statistical methods for precision and interpretation
3,4 if required.
Content analysis therefore resulted in generalizable mission statement analysis
which became the conceptual scheme of the research design. Twelve categories
272 were defined based on the frequent appearance of key phrases, the definition of
which permitted the classification of the components of mission statements on
the basis of the concepts developed, allocating a measure of the intensity and
frequency of each category occurrence (Wheeler, 1988).
The limitations of content analysis; are equally recognised in this study, with
the problem of reliability resting with the researcher(s) subjectivity in analysis,
category choice and content open to questions of validity. The utilisation of the
computer programme Catpac provided confirmitory data in support of the
systematically and objectively selected categories and unit content, reducing
validity concerns and increasing reliability.
So, we ask the familiar question; what components are included in mission
statements?
The answer to this frequently posed question is that mission statements
contain the following components:
I. Customer focus customer satisfaction and expectations are identified
as the focal point of the mission statement.
II. Definition of product or service a definition of the organisations major
product or service offering.
III. Organisation philosophy the organisations basic beliefs, values and
operating principles.
IV. Geographic domain where the organisation currently competes.
V. Employees a concern for employees welfare and career development.
VI. Market leadership organisational goal as market sector dominance.
VII. Shareholders to yield high dividends and a safe investment.
VIII. Innovation innovation in the market place through product research
and development.
IX. Quality of product/services and of service delivery.
X. Profit related usually to dividends, but also straight profit.
XI. Environmental and social responsibility concern for sustainability and
corporate social responsibly.
XII. Suppliers working partnership with suppliers.

Mission statements which define strategic direction; the role of stakeholders

and identify critical success strategies. Defining
The content analysis of the sample of mission statements revealed a focus on organisational
three elements of strategic intent. The mission statements analysed express the missions
goals and aims of the organisations, providing a technique to look ahead,
reinforcing the ideology of the organisation. The three dimensions were found
to dominate the statements analysed each pulling together to form a common 273
ideology (as illustrated in figure 2) which may be summarised as follows:
the first set of components cover the strategic direction of the
organisation including a definition of the organisations products or
service; the organisations philosophy; the aim of market leadership;
commitment to profit; and geographical domain.

Product or Service Definition

Organisation Philosophy
STRATEGIC DIRECTION Goal of Market Leadership
Commitment to profit
Geographic Domain

Customers
Shareholders
STAKEHOLDER CONCERNS Employees
Suppliers

Quality
STRATEGY SUCCESS FACTORS Innovation
Environmental & Social Concern

Figure 2.
How UK The answer to the
Companies familiar question how
Define their organisations define
Mission their mission
JMP: the second dimension covers the organisations stakeholder concerns,
AMS which were found to include customers, shareholders, employees and
3,4 suppliers.
the final dimension concerns the critical success strategies including
quality, innovation and environmental and social responsibility
answering Piercy and Morgans (1994) question what does an
274 organisation have to be good at to succeed in the market?

Strategic direction
An effective mission statement will have an impact on organisational
performance by providing a focused and supportive organisational
environment to lead decision makers in the strategy process (Morris, 1996). The
definition of an organisational mission provides the opportunity to define what
business we are in, the aims and objectives, and the organisations beliefs,
values, and future direction;

Product or Service Definition

The inclusion of a statement of products or services in the mission statement
was found to be consistently high in all sectors, with manufacturing (81%),
service (87%) and retail (71%) organisations. Historically the description of the
firms basic products or services is an imperative component of the mission
statement, as the foundation of corporate strategy (Piercy and Morgan, 1994).
The following mission statements illustrate how firms describe the products
or services in their mission statement;
Prudential Corporation is the largest insurance company in the United
Kingdom .....
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, headquarters in Edinburgh,
provides high quality, competitively priced banking, insurance and
related financial services...
The group will increasingly focus on its core business the
manufacture of kitchens, sinks and bathrooms for the domestic and
international markets. (The Spring Ram)

Organisational Philosophy
A common view of many researchers is that the mission statement identifies the
underlying principles of the organisation, its values, its beliefs and the
philosophical principles of the organisation (Pearce, 1982; Want, 1986; Byars
and Neil, 1987; David, 1989; Campbell et al., 1990; Piercy and Morgan, 1994;
Morris, 1996). The frequency of inclusion of organisation philosophy in the
mission statements surveyed (32%) goes some way towards verifying this
perception. The statements analysed contain encompassing broad issues of
philosophy identified by Piercy and Morgan (1994) as what do we want this
organisation to be and to stand for?
 To capture the emotional energy of an organisation the mission needs to Defining
provide some philosophical rational for achievement of strategic direction organisational
(Campbell and Yeung, 1991), the following mission statements demonstrated missions
the way in which organisations disclosed their philosophy to internal and
external stakeholders;
We will build a world-class, results-oriented culture based on our five 275
key values Respect for the individual, Uncompromising integrity,
Trust, Credibility, and Continuous Improvement and personal reward.
(Kodak)
We aim to be the leading consumer co-operative society, operating and
expanding a financially successful retail business according to co-
operative principles (Co-operative Retail Services)
One reason for being To dedicate our business to the pursuit of social
and environmental change. To creatively balance the financial and
human needs of our stakeholders: employees, franchisees, customers,
suppliers and shareholders. To courageously ensure that our business is
ecologically sustainable: meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the future. To meaningfully contribute to local, national
and international communities in which we trade, by adopting a code of
conduct which ensures care, honesty, fairness and respect. To
passionately campaign for the protection of the environment, human and
civil rights, and against animal testing within the cosmetics and
toiletries industry. To tirelessly work to narrow the gap between
principle and practice, whilst making fun, passion and care part of our
daily lives (The Body Shop).

The Goal of Market Leadership

The mission statements analysed identified the competitive orientation of the
organisation, and the fundamental goal of growth and supremacy in a volatile
and competitive market place. This reflects the organisations drive for
dominance and leadership, reflecting the positive outlook of successful
organisations in the 1990s. Those organisations who have market leadership as
a component of their mission statement include not only those organisations
who are market leaders, but also those whose long term vision is to achieve
market leadership. The study found that 25% of manufacturing, 20% retail and
17% of service organisations strive for market sector dominance and signify
this goal in the components of their mission statements:
Our mission is to be the leading Regional independent Brewery
Company by striving for excellence in all aspects of our business (The
Mansfield Brewery Company)
To be the worlds best international power generation business
(Powergen)
JMP: Our market leadership is reinforced by making our offer beyond the
AMS expectation of our customers and beyond the capabilities of our
3,4 competitors (Courts Plc)
To be the biggest and best personal finance business in the UK
(Halifax Building Society)
276 To be the best and most successful company in the airline business
(British Airways)

Commitment to Profit
Since profit is a mainstream goal of every business organisation the inclusion of
a commitment to economic goals in the mission statement is predictable
(Morris, 1996). As profit was a separate component in addition to market
leadership and growth in many of the mission statements analysed it was
decided to include this element as a separate variable. Some difference in the
inclusion of the profit component was found between manufacturing, service
and retail organisations with the component less dominant in manufacturing
organisations (12%) than service and retail organisations (both 24%). The
inclusion of profit as a component is illustrated by the following sample of
mission statements:
Wilson Connollys objective is to earn profit for our shareholders by
adding value to land. In doing so, we seek to satisfy the needs of our
customers and the aspirations of our employees.
To profitably grow the Mazda and Kia franchises creating a distinctive,
attractive and credible marques (MCL Group).
To generate sufficient profit to finance continual improvement and
growth of the business whilst providing our shareholders with an
excellent return on their investment (J. Sainsburys).

Geographical Domain
David (1989) used the term location to describe the geographic location where
the organisation competes, Morris (1996) introduced the term geographic
domain to define the component which states the geographic location where a
firm competes. The use of the terminology geographical domain amplifies the
recognition of global marketing in strategic planning on a diversified
industrial scale, identifying local, national and international market
opportunities as relevant to the core business. The statements below represent
the manner in which organisations identify their geographic domains in their
mission statements:
Cheshire Building Society First Choice in the North West for mortgages,
residential property sales, savings and investment advice, whilst offering
a more general mortgage and investment service outside of the area
 HP Bulmer Holdings Plc Our mission is to remain the worlds most Defining
successful cider company. We will continue to measure our success in organisational
terms of market leadership, product quality, increasing shareholder missions
value, and rewarding employment opportunities for our employees.

Stakeholder concerns
The stakeholder concept suggests that the execution of strategic planning is 277
dependent on a number of interacting groups, the sum of which is greater than
the individual parts. An effective mission statement is of central importance for
developing strategies that address stakeholders interests (Greenley and Foxall,
1996; Campbell et al., 1990; Campbell and Tawadey, 1990; Campbell and Yeung,
1991; Pearce and David, 1987). The relative importance of each stakeholder
group in the mission reflects the attention given to stakeholders (Greenley and
Foxall, 1996). Neglect of relevant stakeholder groups in strategic planning may
be damaging to company performance. As Greenley and Foxall (1996)
illustrate, the diverse interests of stakeholder groups constitute diverse sets of
expectations, needs and values. The stakeholder groups found to dominate
components of UK mission statements include the internal and external groups
of customers, shareholders, employees and suppliers.

Customers
The relationship between an organisation and its customers is clearly of
primary importance in strategic planning. An organisations customer focus can
be identified by the existence of customer orientated values and beliefs and a
commitment to understanding the customers core requirements (Jenkins, 1996),
one in which the strategic intent of the organisation is to develop a strategic
customer philosophy. Customer orientation has become a dominant competitive
strategy in the 1990s. The focus on customers has increased over the last
decade, Greenley and Foxall (1996) found that the top priority in strategic
planning is given to customers as stakeholders, this is verified by this mission
analysis, with 67% of organisations not simply mentioning the needs and
wants of the customers, but focusing strategic intent on a customer orientation.
Examples of this focus can be seen in the following illustrations:
At Kwik-Fit, the most important person is the customer and it must be
the aim of us all to give 100% Customer Satisfaction 100% of the time
Hydro-Electrics highest priority is delivering exceptional customer
satisfaction. It also aims to be recognised as an outstanding company by
its customers, staff, shareholders, community and suppliers.
Our mission is constant improvement in products and services to meet
our customers needs. This is the only means to business for Goodyear
and prosperity for its investors and associates
Our customers come first. We will each do whatever it takes to exceed
their expectations (Clarks International)
JMP: Shareholders
AMS Shareholders as stakeholders were found to be contained in 38% of the missions
3,4 surveyed, This emphasis on shareholders may be due to the survival factors of
the early 1990s, with due regard now given to shareholders as a priority on
profit payout to maintain financial investment levels.
The following mission statements demonstrate how shareholders are
278 incorporated into current organisational mission statements:
Our objective to increase value for shareholders, as measured by
earnings per share and dividend growth, by applying Wassalls
management methods and philosophy.
Chevron Europes Mission is to continuously contribute significant
returns to Chevron by acquiring, exploring for and producing oil and gas
in Europe. Our success will be measured in terms of increasing value
and supporting COPI in generating sufficient funds for dividends and
future activities.

Employees
Employees have always been a dominant component of mission statements,
demonstrating the organisations attitude and commitment to employees
development. This survey found that 35% of all organisations incorporate this
stakeholder group in their mission, thus acknowledging employees as
instrumental to the achievement of organisation strategic goals (Morris, 1996)
and as core resources in strategic planning. The following statements illustrate
how employees are incorporated in mission statements of the 1990s:
To create wealth for the benefit of our shareholders and employees, and
thereby the community (WBB Devon Clays Ltd).
CAMAS will aim for excellence in the way all tasks are performed. Aim
for quality in depth. Understand and support customer needs. Be a
caring employer, treat people with respect, and provide opportunity to
realise potential. Be proactive in its business environment and alert to
changes. Have integrity in all its dealings.

Suppliers
Suppliers play a central role in the implementation of strategic plans, although
only appearing in 7% of mission statements, the presence of this external group
was not found in the literature based mission components. If an organisation
expects to be valued as a supplier, and as a customer this must be reciprocal,
strategies must incorporate buying habits which reflect overall organisational
philosophy, therefore suppliers should be incorporated as a component of
mission statements.
The two mission statements below illustrate the gradual move to incorporate
supplier relationships into the planning process:
 Responding to customers is the core of Tesco strategy. We deliver real Defining
benefits to them and good returns to shareholders, through the energy of organisational
our staff and in partnership with our suppliers (Tesco plc). missions
Mayflowers corporate strategy is to seek out growth opportunities in
specialist manufacturing sectors where it can exploit under-developed
market potential. Working in partnership with investors, employees,
customers and suppliers its aim is to achieve world quality leadership in 279
the products and services it offers. Driven by management known for its
unique blend of control, creativity and entrepreneurship, Mayflowers
aim is to secure profit growth opportunities for the benefit of its
shareholders.

Strategy success factors

Strategy success factors refer to the issues an organisation has to excel at in
order to survive and flourish in the market place (Piercy and Morgan, 1994),
these competitive issues are dependent on the current external market
environment. The survey found three components regularly referred to in UK
mission statements quality, innovation and environmental and socially
responsibility, none of which have been referred to in the literature.

Quality
Quality of products and services and service delivery has been an major
research issue of the last decade, which is reflected in the number of mission
statements currently giving quality a priority in strategic planning, and a
voicing in organisational mission statements. Quality was a component of 18%
of mission statements surveyed, it should be noted however, that it was a more
dominate component in retail organisation missions with 40% of those
surveyed having a quality component compared to only 11% of manufacturing
and 20% of service organisations this reflects an increase in quality as a
strategic competitive advantage in the retail sector.
The following mission statements illustrate how organisations voice their
commitment to quality:
To achieve sustainable business success through the production of high
quality lead and silver products for the world market (Britannia Refined
Metals).
Lloyds Bank will provide the best retail banking service quality
products, delivered well, at the right price.
We aim to provide unrivalled value to our customers through the range
and quality of the products we sell, the competitiveness of our prices and
the high standards of our in-store and after sales service (Dixon Group
Plc).
House of Frasers core strategy is to consolidate and extend our
reputation for quality of store, quality of location, quality of merchandise
JMP: and quality of service which combine to produce the highest level of
AMS value for a growing customer base.
3,4
Innovation
The contribution of innovation to strategic competitive advantage is important
to certain industries, market led innovation is an integrated component of the
280 strategic management process (Foxall and Minkes, 1996) forming a core
constituent of market success. Innovation was found to be mentioned in 16% of
mission statement, however, not one retail organisations mentioned innovation,
with 25% of manufacturing and 10% of service organisations acknowledging
innovation as a core success factor in achieving their strategic direction.
The following mission statements define how manufacturing and service
organisations define their commitment to innovation:
We at Tarmac aim to be an innovative world class provider of high
quality products and services which add value to our customers in the
built environment
Tibbett & Brittens objective is to be the leading international logistics
company proving clients with cost effective, quality and innovative
services, while ensuring shareholders and employees receive worthwhile
returns on their investment and commitment to the business
To be a leader in filtration and purification. Growth through innovation.
Deliver above average growth in earning per share. Twice our size in five
years. (Whatman Plc).

Environmental and Social Responsibility

This critical success factor refers to the holistic strategic management process
that identifies, anticipates, satisfies and fulfils stakeholders environmental and
social concerns. Such concerns have been on the strategic management agenda
since the early 1980s. What constitutes an environmental and social issue is a
matter of judgement and will depend on the organisations interpretation of
extrinsic evidence, media coverage and stakeholder concerns. Leading
companies worldwide are starting to examine their position on such
responsibilities (Charter, 1992) and there is an increasing call for sustainability
that respects indigenous societies and the global environment of today and the
future (Peattie, 1995, Strong, 1997). This is reflected by these issues forming
components of mission statements for the new millennium, 16% of those
surveyed had such a component a component not previously mentioned in the
literature.
The survey found that 13% of service, 17% of manufacturing and 24% of
retail organisations illustrate their environmental and social concern in their
mission statements, illustrations of which are as follows:
 Scottish Power is committed to building business, providing high Defining
standards of customer service and achieving continuous improvements organisational
in environmental performance. missions
At GEC, we will do our utmost to provide value and high standards of
service to our customers and will encourage our suppliers to do the same.
We will play a constructive role in the communities in which our
facilities are established, paying due regard to environmental 281
considerations......
To operate clean, bright, efficient, friendly and socially responsible no
nonsense foodstores which give to the discerning shopper the best
value anywhere (Kwik Save).

Conclusion
There is a trend to focus on the customer as a core stakeholder, growing away
from the simple analysis of needs and wants, with the customer as the focal
point of the strategy process, having priority over competitors, employees, and
shareholders. Managing a customers focus is commonly regarded as being one
of the most effective strategies to develop competitive advantage (Ennew and
Binks, 1996). This can also be seen in the strategic impact of quality, which is
widely viewed as the core success factor in retaining existing customers and
capturing new ones (Zeithaml et al., 1996; Ennew and Bink, 1996). The other
major strategic direction identified, not found in the literature, is the move
towards market leadership as a strategic issue, with companies striving to
become more competitive as the recession lifts mere survival is no longer
sufficient and market leadership has become a focusing goal. This is further
illustrated by the emphasis placed on the profit orientation of mission
statements, where the concern for survival has been superseded by a more
success orientated paradigm, amplifying the comparative strength and
efficiency of the organisation.
In order to attain these competitive goals, the strategic success factors found
in mission statements have shifted in the 1990s towards quality and innovation
as core success factors. The category of technology found in the literature based
components has been broadened to that of innovation, forming a direct
integration with the goal of market leadership innovation involves being first
in with new products, services and markets (Gupta et al., 1986) and so forms a
success factor on which to achieve the strategic direction of market leadership.
As the work of Greenley and Foxall (1996) illustrates, stakeholder orientation
is of growing importance to organisations of today. This survey found that
internal stakeholders employees and shareholders and external
stakeholders customers and suppliers, have a dominant presence as
components of current mission statements. This increased emphasis on
stakeholder concern mirrors the widening of stakeholder concern per se as a
means of building competitive advantage identification of rising customer
expectation, increasing employee involvement in delivering successful quality
JMP: programmes and the need to involve suppliers as partners rather than
AMS providers demonstrates the evolving involvement paradigm.
3,4 In addition, despite the suggestions that it was a passing fad in the 1980s,
environmental and social responsibility is now a core strategic issue having a
presence in many strategic plans of the 1990s. David (1989) identified public
image and self concept as a component of mission, however, with environmental
282 and social responsibility becoming more main stream concerns which receive
extensive media coverage, environmental and social issues have become a
dominant component of an organisations self image. Therefore these issues,
which were not a priority concern of the strategic planning process in the past,
have become part of an evolving stakeholder concept which is pivotal to
strategic planning in the forward thinking organisation.
Every organisation has a unique purpose, set of goals and priorities which
should be reflected in a mission statement (David, 1989), it can be concluded
that these priorities currently focus on three determinants of competitive
advantage the strategic direction of the organisation, stakeholder concerns,
and critical success strategies which are reflected in the mission statements of
the UKs top large organisations.

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