dc.description.abstract | The aim of this thesis is to contribute with new insights on the concept of organizational
purpose, by answering the following main research question:
How does purpose influence the MCS in purpose-driven organizations?
There has been a tremendous increase in the general interest of organizational purpose over
the course of the last decade. However, there is still a significant lack of scholarly research
conducted on the concept. In this thesis, we seek to gain an enhanced understanding of what
organizational purpose is, how it may be operationalized in organizations’ management
control systems (MCS), and the potential implications for employees. We seek to understand
what organizational purpose is by reviewing the existing management literature on
organizational purpose. Furthermore, we conduct a comparative analysis of how the concept
is operationalized in the MCS of two Norwegian purpose-driven organizations. The analysis
is based on qualitative data gathered from interviewing employees in these organizations.
In answering our main research question, we find that there are three important aspects in
which organizations with a desire to become purpose-driven need to consider. First, we find
that operationalizing purpose in an organization’s MCS is a laborious process. This implies
that perseverance is a key factor. Second, our results suggest that organizational purpose must
be operationalized in ways that are tangible for employees. The purpose should be articulated
as an explicit statement, and should be operationalized in the MCS in ways that are
understandable to employees. Third, we find that organizational purpose has the ability to spur
organizational commitment and employee engagement. Potential consequences for
organizations may be reduced turnover, higher level of innovation, and enhanced employee
performance. However, our findings suggest that organizations may face a challenge in
making employees’ commitment to the purpose cascade from upper management down to
lower hierarchical levels. | nb_NO |