Mission statement: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose: A mission statement is a widely used strategic tool that emphasises an organisation’s uniqueness and identity. This article summarises and offers a critical overview of the literature on mission statements, since its inception in the early 1980s until today. Methodology: Following a systematic literature review, 53 academic papers published in top leading journals in the field that focused on the role of the mission statement in organisations are presented and discussed. Findings: Works dealing with mission statements can be classified into four main areas: (1) mission statement development, (2) mission statement components, (3) mission impact on employees, and (4) mission impact on performance. The synthesis of this literature shows that mission statements are widely used in practice but poorly researched in theory. Most articles in the area adopt a managerial phenomenon-based strand, lacking a deep theoretical foundation. Contribution: This paper contributes to the existing literature in two main ways. First, it provides a comprehensive and critical review of scholarly research on mission statements. Second, it puts forward directions for future research on this area.