A Model of the Impact of Mission Rationale, Content, Process and Alignment on Firm Performance

A relationship between mission and organizational performance was modeled by drawing on previous research. The model was tested with data from 83 large Canadian and US organizations. We found that mission statements can affect financial performance, howevre, not as one might have anticipated initially. Several mediating elements were observed to exsist. For instance, "commitment to the mission" and the "degree to which and organization aligns its internal structure, policies and procedures with its mission" were both found to be positively associated with "employee behaviour". It was this later variable whch was observed, in turn, to have the most direct relationship with financial performance