BM_IMD_REPORT-How-Authentic-is-your-Corporate-Purpose

Leading
13. Appendices
Appendix I: Survey Questionnaire
Below are the questions that were included in the final quantitative survey questionnaire. 5
Corporate purpose is a company's core "reason for being." It is the organization’s single underlying
objective that unifies all stakeholders and embodies its ultimate role in the broader economic,
societal and environmental context. Corporate purpose is often communicated through a company's
mission or vision statements, but may also remain informal and unarticulated.
However, corporate purpose can sometimes be viewed with mistrust and skepticism and perceived as
mere “window dressing” if it does not match the firm's actual actions.
Through this study, we are interested in understanding what determines the authenticity of a firm’s
corporate purpose. Since “authenticity” is generally defined as being “true to oneself,” we define
authenticity of corporate purpose as the alignment between a firm’s perceived corporate purpose
and the actual strategic decisions and actions that a firm takes.
Given the definition in the introduction, please think of a company that you believe has an Authentic
Corporate Purpose.
______________________________
On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is "Strongly Disagree" and 7 is "Strongly Agree," to what extent do
the following statements describe the company you chose for Question # 1.
Dimension
Balance
Awareness
Transparency
Self‐regulation
Questionnaire Items: The Company…
...solicits views that challenge its deeply held positions.
...analyzes all relevant data, regardless of source, before making a decision.
...does not listen carefully to different points of view before coming to a decision.
...does not like to be confronted with its limitations and shortcomings.
…seeks feedback to improve its interactions with stakeholders.
...accurately describes how stakeholders view its actions.
...is not aware of the impact it has on its stakeholders.
...is aware of why it does the things it does.
...is aware of what drives or motivates its actions.
...is not aware of what it finds truly important.
...tells the truth.
...admits mistakes when they are made.
... does not openly share information with stakeholders.
...does not pretend to be something that it is not.
...monitors its actions to ensure that it does not violate any legal or ethical norms.
...exhibits restraint with regard to growth and profit ambitions by taking its
impact on stakeholders into account.
...does not make decisions that are true to its corporate purpose.
...resists pressure to do things contrary to its corporate purpose.
...acts according to its corporate purpose even if others criticize it for it.
5 Note that for purposes of clarity, the questions described herein are grouped by their respective dimensions. In the
actual survey, the questions were presented to responders in random order.
43