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Proposes a new model called the strategy evaluation model. The need for this model is based on the ongoing criticism aimed at capital budgeting models which employ purely quantitative methods such as discounted cash flow techniques and financial ratio analysis. It has been suggested that these models ignore key issues in the strategy‐making process. These key issues are difficult to evaluate as they are typically qualitative and intangible aspects of strategy. The strategy evaluation model provides a method for ranking strategy on quantitative, qualitative and intangible criteria based on their prioritized relationship with the mission of the firm. Aims to provide an evaluation model which can harness the expertise of a firm’s strategic thinkers and combine it with quantitative information.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether business strategy influences strategic management accounting (SMA) usage. Business strategy has been operationalized through strategic pattern, mission and positioning.

The paper is based on an internet questionnaire survey of Italian companies. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the impact of strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) on SMA usage. Company size is included as control variable.

Several SMA techniques appear to be used in Italian companies as they are in other countries investigated in different studies. Customer accounting, competitive position monitoring, competitor performance appraisal based on published financial statement and quality costing represent the most widely used SMA techniques in the Italian sample. From the regression analysis, both defender‐ and cost leader‐type of strategy are found to be more willing to use SMA techniques addressing cost information.

The issue, common in contingent research, of business strategy definition and operationalization constitutes the main limitation of the paper; in an attempt to restrict its effect, it uses three strategic typologies (pattern, mission and positioning) and employs a measurement method used in previous studies. A second issue concerns the definition of SMA techniques. There is no concurred list of SMA techniques in the literature and further discussion is expected in the future.

First, empirical evidence is provided to a field (SMA) where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with traditional management accounting techniques. Second, for the first time in SMA studies, a framework is employed that considers all of the three main strategic variables (pattern, mission and positioning) used in management accounting literature. As a result, the loose coupling between SMA techniques and business strategy typologies indicates (with the possible exception of cost‐related SMA techniques) that the same SMA technique can support different strategic approaches of the company.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for the need to redefine a mission statement, to develop a clearer definition and show its advantages and limitations.

The paper shows the literature's lack of agreement on the definition of the mission statement and whether it should be defined as a stand‐alone statement or as a broader model. It then demonstrates the discrepancy between these definitions and the actual mission statements of exemplary organizations. This is followed by proposing a new definition of a mission, demonstrating how it is rooted in good practice, and presenting its benefits and limitations.

There are found to be widely varied definitions and models of the mission statement. These are typically complex (composed of many parts) and are not reflected in the mission statements of many exemplary organizations. The need is clear for a more focused definition.

The basic argument is mainly built on conceptual discussions and unsystematic evidence. Therefore, there is a need for more empirical studies to substantiate that argument. The paper discusses the research implications of the proposed definition.

The proposed definition of the mission statement may prove helpful both conceptually and practically. This definition focuses the attention of practitioners on purpose and commitment independent from other related concepts. The paper shows the impact of the proposed definition on the process, participants, and outcome of developing a mission statement.

The paper offers a focused definition of mission statement and shows its relevance to both theory and practice.

Leaders at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the USA experience substantial pressure to contain costs while advancing their educational missions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between publicly stated academic cost-containment objectives found in HEI’s strategic plans and mission statements, which help to unify stakeholders and link strategy to an organization’s purpose.

This paper analyzes mission statements and strategic plans of 57 small, private HEIs in the Northeastern USA. HEIs in this sample published strategic plans with an explicit cost-containment goal. Mission statements were analyzed for readability. Thematic analysis was conducted using the balanced scorecard approach. Associations between a stated academic cost containment goal and mission statement themes are presented using logistic regression.

Mission statements of HEIs focused on academic cost containment are wordier and more varied. They tend not to mention “liberal arts,” a potential signal of a high-quality, high-cost school; less selective schools may be more likely to emphasize academic cost cutting.

This paper contributes to the literature demonstrating mission statements’ role in goal setting. Further, it considers college costs from college administrators’ perspectives. Given the small sample size, future work should expand the sample and use case studies to explore how mission shapes or constrains strategic objectives.

This is the first paper using qualitative and quantitative analysis to explore the association between the mission statements of small HEIs and academic cost containment goals in strategic plans, documents intended to support differentiation in a crowded market.

The purpose of this paper is to present a structural evaluation methodology to link key performance indicators (KPIs) into the strategy map of the balance scorecard (BSC) for Chinese science parks (CSPs). We establish the visualized strategy map with the logical links to improve the science parks’ (SPs’) performance.

Corresponding to the four BSC perspectives (finance, customer, internal process and employee learning and growth), KPIs for CSPs are synthesized and screened in the relevant literature. The application for Zhongguancun Science Park (ZSP) is provided as an example.

The research results show that the presented approach is an objective and feasible way to construct a more justifiable strategy map. The proposed framework can be applied to non-profit organizations, such as SPs.

This work provides a systematic method to establish strategy maps for SPs (non-profit organizations), based on the consideration of the intricate causal relationships among KPIs, and the analysis of the important strategic improvement paths and proposes the model of assessment of emphasizing the processes rather than outcomes.

Private equity and venture capital (VC) firms in the capital markets sector invest capital with the primary goal of delivering economic value. However, some firms in the capital markets sector have started to shift this focus to create (i.e. invest in) social value. More specifically, traditional VC firms are starting socially oriented funds, while other firms have emerged to focus solely on investments in social enterprises. These VC firms are contributing to an interesting paradox – performance metrics are not measured by profit alone but also by social innovation. From an architectural perspective, the authors examine the implications of internal design, i.e. how specific strategic and structural factors influence the financial performance of VC firms with a social orientation to determine if these firms really can “do well and do good.”

Social orientation was determined by content analysis of mission statements of the VC firms. Firm strategies, structures and performance were sourced from secondary data. A moderated mediation model was used to test relationships.

Results suggest that (1) socially responsible VC firms adopt distinct foci of social investing that directs their strategic orientation and (2) these various foci have vastly differing effects on the firm's overall performance, strategic decisions made and the architecture of their structural design.

This study is among the first to explore socially responsible VC architectural dimensions, with implications for firm design based on blended measures of success.

Previous literature has emphasized that social enterprises (SEs) are challenged by their pursuit of divergent social and financial goals, often resulting in tensions leading to a mission drift. This study aims to provide an alternative view wherein these organizations fail to make deliberate and exclusive choices between their goals. In this paper, the authors critically review previous findings on mission drift and present a new concept built on the paradox theory.

This conceptual paper draws upon previous literature on mission drift in SEs. The authors took an integrative review approach to provide an overview of the topic in which the research is still interdisciplinary. The paradox theory approach has been used to guide the discussion and expand the findings.

The authors put forward the concept of spaces of vulnerability, which arise from the tensions faced by SEs between their social and financial objectives and which can lead them to suffer mission drift. The authors propose to shift attention from the sources and strategies of mission drift to the processes involved in the composition of those spaces where missions can become more vulnerable but not necessarily drift.

This perspective adds value to practitioners by increasing the likelihood of SEs surviving multiple logics and clarifying conflicts between social and financial goals in advance. Founders and managers might not only balance their dual missions but also understand their respective roots underlying typologies with regards to decision-making.

The authors enrich the literature by exploring how SEs can deal with tensions related to their multiple goals and sustain their social mission in the long term by offering a theoretical discussion and new forms to consider their dual objectives.

This study looked at the impact on return‐on‐assets (ROA) of aligning budgeting and human resource management (HRM) practices with strategy. A Lisrel model was tested on 79 large Canadian and U.S. firms. Although HR policy alignment was positively associated with ROA, budgetary alignment was only positively associated with ROA in conjunction with process participation. That is, organisations performed best when the budgets were aligned with the mission of the organisation and numerous levels of the organisation had the opportunity to participate in strategy formation. Furthermore, aligned budgets did not ameliorate the negative affects of implementing a non‐participatory process of strategy formation.

Suggests that writing a great mission statement can be perceived as a wonderful opportunity or a meaningless task – but it must be done well because the mission drives organizational goals, strategies and behaviour. Explores the problems of designing a scintillating mission and provides three real, superb examples of what a great mission can be.