Purpose wins? A study of purpose-profit orientations, stakeholder perceptions and trust in firms

IF 3.1 Q1 COMMUNICATION
Suzanne Peters
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

The research seeks to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of firms, the extent these assessments impact trust in firms and possible implications for sustainability communications.

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies were undertaken involving two experiments (n = 436, n = 393) and one survey (n = 217). Analyses of variance was used in all three studies and in studies 2 and 3—to test for possible mediators—each variable was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) with bootstrapping of 5,000 samples.

Findings

Results demonstrate significant favouring of sustainability-minded firms. Some differences between consumers and investors were found but also notable commonalities such as a general propensity to favour purpose-oriented firms and similar determinations of trust in firms.

Practical implications

Findings could support more effective sustainability communications and firm decisions regarding investments in purpose- and sustainability-oriented initiatives. The results may also support designs to pursue and promote designations (e.g. B Corp) that legitimize sustainability claims.

Originality/value

This research was unique in its evaluation of two stakeholder types in the same context. Further, it provides new insights into how a firm’s profit-purpose orientation affects stakeholder perceptions and assessments of trustworthiness.

目的制胜?关于企业目的-利润导向、利益相关者看法和信任的研究
研究旨在评估利益相关者对企业的看法、这些评估对企业信任度的影响程度以及对可持续发展沟通可能产生的影响。研究共进行了三项研究,包括两项实验(n = 436、n = 393)和一项调查(n = 217)。三项研究均使用了方差分析,在研究 2 和研究 3 中,为了测试可能的中介因素,使用 Hayes 的 PROCESS 宏(Hayes,2013 年)对每个变量进行了测试,并对 5000 个样本进行了引导。研究结果表明,消费者和投资者之间存在一些差异,但也有显著的共性,如普遍倾向于以目标为导向的企业,对企业的信任度也类似。研究结果还可以为追求和推广使可持续发展主张合法化的称号(如 B 公司)的设计提供支持。此外,它还为企业的利润目标导向如何影响利益相关者对可信度的看法和评估提供了新的见解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.40
自引率
6.50%
发文量
29
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