Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation

Rebecca   Henderson; Eric  Van den Steen

Article | American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings

Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation

by Rebecca Henderson and Eric Van den Steen

Abstract

Why do so many firms publicly espouse a "purpose" beyond simple profit maximization? And why do so many managers and employees appear to care deeply about this purpose and to believe that it is critically important? In this paper we argue that the conventional answers to this question fail to account for the fact that employees usually care whether the pursuit of purpose is authentic and that the embrace of purpose often affects even employees whose own work is remote from the activities that put the purpose into action. In this paper we propose instead that firms may adopt a socially driven purpose because of how it affects—through the visibility of firm membership and through the visibility of the firm's actions—employee identity and reputation, where we define "identity" as our own beliefs about ourselves and "reputation" as others' beliefs about ourselves.

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Identity; Reputation;

Format: Print

Find at Harvard

Citation:

Henderson, Rebecca, and Eric Van den Steen. "Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 105, no. 5 (May 2015): 326–330.

Established in 2007, SoundCloud already boasted the second largest number of active music listeners among all streaming services and was recognized as the go-to platform for new artists by early 2014. Yet, its founders were questioning the robustness of the firm’s current focus on serving as a lab for emerging musical artists. They were wondering if the firm should instead enter the booming mainstream music streaming market.

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio chain, in 2006 as more than a health club; they wanted it to become a lifestyle brand that would “empower riders in an immersive fitness experience.” By early 2015, SoulCycle had grown to 38 studios in seven metropolitan areas. In March 2015, Equinox, a luxury fitness company that had financed SoulCycle’s expansion in 2011, approached the co-founders with an offer to buy them out for $90 million each. It was an attractive offer but it would also likely circumscribe their responsibilities. Rice and Cutler had to decide whether to accept the Equinox offer as a prelude to smaller roles at the firm (even potential exit), or continue investing time, energy, and financial resources in growing the business.

Faculty & Research

Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation

Abstract

Citation:

About the Authors

More from these Authors