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Corporate Purpose: A Social Judgement Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Roy Suddaby

    (Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada; Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163; Liverpool University Management School, Liverpool University, Liverpool L3 5TR, United Kingdom; IAE Business School, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina B1629WWA)

  • Luca Manelli

    (School of Management, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy)

  • Ziyun Fan

    (School for Business & Society, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom)

Abstract

We apply the lens of social judgement theory to understand the causes and consequences of the growing debate about the purpose of the corporation. Our historical analysis suggests that the debate about corporate purpose is not new and that it tends to arise during periods of growing economic inequality. Our analysis also suggests that the discursive shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism will trigger a new standard of social evaluation of corporations in which we no longer judge corporate behavior based on standards of legitimacy but rather on standards of authenticity. We explore what this change in social evaluation will mean for corporate competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Roy Suddaby & Luca Manelli & Ziyun Fan, 2023. "Corporate Purpose: A Social Judgement Perspective," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 202-211, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orstsc:v:8:y:2023:i:2:p:202-211
    DOI: 10.1287/stsc.2023.0185
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Michael G. Pratt & Luke N. Hedden, 2023. "Accounts and Accountability: On Organizational Purpose, Organizational Identity, and Meaningful Work," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 182-192, June.
    2. Gianluca Gionfriddo & Andrea Mario Cuore Piccaluga, 2025. "Creating shared value through open innovation: Insights from the case of Enel industrial plants," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 137-154, January.
    3. Brandon Ofem & Ikenna Uzuegbunam & Satish Nambisan, 2025. "The Interdependence Between Donors and Investors: Liability of Hybridity, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Affordances, and Venture Financing," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(5), pages 1357-1391, September.
    4. William Ocasio & Matthew Kraatz & David Chandler, 2023. "Making Sense of Corporate Purpose," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 123-138, June.
    5. Shen, Huajie & Sun, Zhongyuan & Li, Stan Xiao, 2025. "Optimal or detrimental? Distinctiveness in high risk aversion contexts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    6. Tjandra, Nathalia C. & Feri, Alessandro & Ind, Nicholas & Iglesias, Oriol & Backhaus, Christof & Seegebarth, Barbara, 2025. "The core attributes of conscientious brands: A stakeholder perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).

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