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RESEARCH
ANALYSIS
TRENDS
The concept of “corporate purpose”
requires rethinking of the economy
Our value system is changing in times of corona. management and control instrument for all activities of
Issues such as responsibility, sustainability, and a company. In short, a corporate purpose is the
fairness are in the public eye and rapidly increasing in formulated assumption of doing business responsibly in
importance: big problems of the world have reached the environment of all stakeholders that use the
our society as a whole, as the ‘Fridays for Future” or product/service provided by the company.
“Black Lives Matter” movements prove.
Two aspects are particularly important: the foundation
There is a public demand for taking on more for the common good, which complements the
responsibility that no one and no company can ignore company's profit targets, and the integration of activities
anymore. People are tackling social problems louder that are oriented towards the common good in the
than ever, letting the well-known corporate goals like value chain or business model. The latter is an
sales records, gains in market share and satisfied important distinction from the area of corporate social
shareholders, come second. responsibility (CSR), which is usually decoupled from
the management of a company. CSR commitments are
Today’s organizations need to try bringing “social” and often at risk if profitability falls and savings must be
“business” into harmony with their new ideas and made, while a corporate purpose can give the company
ventures, just like established companies initiate orientation and inspiration for crisis management.
transformations and further developments. Especially
since by now even financial investors are turning their At the World Economic Annual Meeting corporate
back on the mantra of shareholder value and purpose has been defined “to produce profitable
demanding that companies create value for all their solutions to the problems of people and planet, and not
stakeholders. to profit from producing problems for people or planet.”
It is about producing solutions, doing so profitably not
The concept of “corporate purpose” reflects exactly just philanthropically, and measuring fair – not fake –
these developments and wants to make them usable profits.
as an orientation tool for companies, for instance, a
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