Primary tabs

Purpose, not profit, is key to innovation in the face of disruption

Samantha Chiew Published on Tue, Jul 25, 2017 / 3:24 PM GMT+8

A-

A+

SINGAPORE (July 25): A majority 73% of business leader respondents believe in the strong value of corporate purpose and only a minority of 15% believe that their company’s main purpose is to maximise shareholder value, according to the latest report by Ernst & Young.

The report -- How can purpose reveal a path through disruption? Mapping the journey from rhetoric to reality -- also revealed that purpose means different things to different companies.

Thirty-three percent of respondents cited bringing value to customers when asked to characterise their organisation’s purpose while 15% cited boosting share price and 11% cited bringing value to employees. The other 40% of respondents cited that their organisation’s purpose is to create value for multiple stakeholders or offering an aspirational reason for being.