The Relevance of Mission Statements: Analysing the antecedents of perceived message quality and its relationship to employee mission engagement

Abstract

Although mission statements are deemed effective tools for communicating the goals of public organizations, there is a dearth of research examining how employees perceive mission statements and their effect. Data from 1,418 employees of a Belgian public organization indicate that although perceived mission statement quality and employee mission engagement are positively related, individual acceptance of the mission statement varies within the analysed organization and can be, partially, explained by cognitions and attributes of the message receiver (hierarchical position, perceived self-efficacy and person–organization fit), and employee cognitions regarding the message sender (behavioural integrity) and the message (mission ambiguity).

Key words:

• mission statement
• employee perceptions
• employee mission engagement

Notes

1 For models with N > 250 and between 12 and 30 observed variables: CFI ≥ .92, GFI ≥ .90, NFI ≥ .90, RMSEA < .07.

2 1 = Non-supervisor, 2 = first-level manager or lower middle management (grouped), 3 = higher middle management.