An exploratory investigation of mission statements of banks in South Eastern European countries: customers vs. society?

We investigate mission statements of 129 commercial banks in ten South Eastern European countries by examining their websites. Only one in four banks discloses a properly labelled ('explicit') mission statement. We then study 'implicit' mission statements, seeking components of mission statements. The findings suggest that the banks examined posit higher emphasis on customers and 'pragmatic' aspects of their activity and lower on society, values, and 'societal' employee motivation, which seems quite contrary to the view that long-term profitability goes hand in hand with efforts to serve the interests of all stakeholders groups, which are affected by, and/or affect, company activities.