Study On The Evolution Of Corporate Mission From The Perspective Of Organizational Learning

Since environment becomes highly dynamic and uncertain, enterprises have to make strategic adjustment or transformation to survive in violent competition. However, many enterprises are confused about when they should make change, what should be changed as well as how much they should change. Those enterprises that take sightless strategic changes ultimately fail in the dynamic environment and violent competition. Corporate mission, as unanimously approved by scholars, is of significance and value in strategic planning, operation management, organizational values, information transmission and performance improvement. While present researches about corporate mission are focused on qualitative analysis on static perspective, or on empirical analysis of the relationship between mission statement and corporate performance, there is rare study on the evolution of corporate mission.Based on organizational evolution theory, irrationalism in strategic management and organizational learning theory, this study introduces organizational learning into the evolutionary process of corporate mission. Primary research model is constructed on the basis of theoretical analysis on mission redefining and evolutionary modes, factors(including organizational legitimacy, corporate governance structure and entrepreneurial values) that could influence mission’s evolution, and relationship between organizational learning and mission’s evolution. CIMC(China International Marine Containers) in this study is taken as the research case where the evolution process of corporate missions from 1982 to 2012 is divided into three periods. As with theoretical deduction, the study reaches conclusions as follows: First, “competition orientation – equilibrium – commitment orientation” makes an evolutionary path of China corporate mission, on which it takes the forms of hereditary evolution and variant evolution. Second, organizational legitimacy, corporate governance structure and entrepreneurial values consist of important factors that promote mission’s evolution. Organizational legitimacy enhancement, equity deconcentration, board independence, and entrepreneurial altruism promote mission evolved from competition orientation to commitment orientation, among which entrepreneurial altruism plays a dominant role. Third, organizational learning modes influence mission’s evolution modes. As enterprise inclined toward exploitation learning, corporate mission is inclined toward hereditary evolution; as enterprise inclined toward exploration learning, corporate mission is inclined toward variant evolution. Fourth, organizational learning moderates the relationship between organizational legitimacy, corporate governance structure, entrepreneurial values and mission’s evolution. Finally, this study revises the primary research model, so that general regularity can be revealed to enrich present researches and provide significant implications on effective mission management in the dynamic environment.