India’s Super 50 companies and their mission statement: a multifold perspective

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the content of mission statements of India’s Super 50 companies, selected from Forbes India magazine, on multiple aspects such as components, stakeholders’ inclusion, content readability and strategic orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

A total sample of 29 companies was chosen for the study, whose mission statement details were available on their official websites. These firms’ mission statement was rated on the basis of nine selected components of what constitutes a “good mission statement.” Further, industry-level analysis was also carried out to measure significant differences between manufacturing and service industries. Data were analyzed using frequency analysis, average and t-statistics. Gunning Fog index was also calculated to measure content readability.

Findings

The results show that Indian firms largely focus on their customers as major stakeholders while defining their mission and emphasize upon values and philosophy, products or services offered, and integration of technology in production or processes. There is no statistically significant difference identified between the average mean value of components for sample manufacturing and service firms.

Research limitations/implications

The study is cross-sectional in nature; however, a few firms redesign their mission according to need; therefore, a detailed longitudinal study of a few firms could open up new paradigms. The findings are based on sample firms selected from Forbes India, so generalization needs to be done with complete caution.

Originality/value

The study looks ahead of the most popular of David’s (1989) nine crucial components of mission statements, taking into account major shifts in the business environment. It also attempts to fill a contextual research gap by analyzing the mission statements of top Indian firms. Three crucial elements – “strategic decision,” “stakeholder concerns” and “critical success factors” – have been identified for Indian firms that define their mission statement.

Citation

Yadav, N. and Sehgal, V. (2019), "India’s Super 50 companies and their mission statement: a multifold perspective", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 208-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-08-2018-0082