Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Forthcoming
  • Article
  • Management Science

Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms

By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Analyzing data from approximately 1.5 million employees across 1,108 established public and private US companies, we find that the strength of employee beliefs related to purpose is weaker in public companies. Among public companies, those beliefs are stronger for firms with more committed owners. These patterns are most pronounced within the salaried middle and hourly ranks, rather than senior executives. Differences across firms can be attributed, in part, to differences in leadership and incentive characteristics. Our findings are consistent with higher owner commitment, and the corresponding policies that arise alongside this higher commitment, enabling a stronger sense of purpose inside organizations.

Keywords

Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Culture; Corporate Culture; Public And Private Organizations; Hedge Fund; Executive Pay; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Employees; Attitudes; Executive Compensation; Ownership

Citation

Gartenberg, Claudine, and George Serafeim. "Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms." Management Science (forthcoming).
  • SSRN

About The Author

George Serafeim

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Machine Learning Models for Prediction of Scope 3 Carbon Emissions

    By: George Serafeim and Gladys Velez Caicedo
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    A Conceptualization of Sub-Living Wages: Liabilities, Leverage, and Risk

    By: Drew Keller, Katie Panella and George Serafeim
    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Business Implications from Regulating Carbon Emissions in the EU

    By: George Serafeim and Benjamin Maletta
More from the Authors
  • Machine Learning Models for Prediction of Scope 3 Carbon Emissions By: George Serafeim and Gladys Velez Caicedo
  • A Conceptualization of Sub-Living Wages: Liabilities, Leverage, and Risk By: Drew Keller, Katie Panella and George Serafeim
  • Business Implications from Regulating Carbon Emissions in the EU By: George Serafeim and Benjamin Maletta
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College