Purpose is a concept often used in managerial communities to signal and define a firm’s benevolent and pluralistic approach to its stakeholders beyond its focus on shareholders. While some evidence has linked purpose to positive organizational outcomes such as growth, employee satisfaction, innovation, and superior stock market performance, the definition and application of purpose in management research has been varied and frequently ambiguous. We review literature streams that invoke purpose in the for-profit firm and propose a unifying definition. Next, we develop a framework to study purpose that decouples its framing and formalization within firms from its realization, thus helping to avoid conflation of the presence of purpose with positive organizational outcomes. The framework also highlights internal and external drivers that shape the framing of purpose as well as the influence of the institutional context on its adoption and effectiveness. Finally, we provide a rich agenda for future research on purpose.

目的是管理社区中经常使用的一个概念，用于向公司的利益相关者传达并定义其仁慈而多元化的方法，而不仅仅是关注股东。尽管有一些证据将目的与积极的组织成果（例如增长，员工满意度，创新和卓越的股票市场表现）相关联，但目的在管理研究中的定义和应用却千差万别，而且常常含糊不清。我们回顾了在营利性公司中调用目的的文献流，并提出了统一的定义。接下来，我们将开发一个研究目标的框架，该框架将其在公司内部的框架和形式与实现之间脱钩，从而有助于避免将目标的存在与积极的组织成果混为一谈。该框架还强调了形成目标框架的内部和外部驱动因素，以及制度背景对其采用和有效性的影响。最后，我们为将来有针对性的研究提供了丰富的议程。