METAPoF · Metaphor as the Purpose of the Firm

In this research programme, I connect language to managers’ sense-making about the purpose of the firm in society. Specifically, how does language reflect and shape beliefs as to whether firms should tackle societal challenges, such as inequality, resource scarcity, and climate change, rather than merely create economic value for investors? In contrast to dominant macro-level explanations focused on the institutional drivers of purpose, I propose to investigate figurative language as a micro-foundation that influences why firms choose to tackle the societal challenges they do. Figurative language, such as metaphor, has a role in shaping how people think and act. It does so by helping actors make sense of complex phenomena in terms of objects and processes they more readily understand and experience more concretely. For instance, people often describe the future in terms of the physical realities of space and motion. Emerging research at the interface of language and cognitive science documents that even subtle differences in the form of metaphor—e.g., whether we describe ourselves as approaching the future, or whether we describe the future as approaching us—can prompt distinct ways of sense-making. I have designed three empirical studies that build on this emerging research to advance understanding of how metaphor informs sense-making about the future and about one’s capacity to solve societal problems. The studies explore 1) the relationship between metaphor and understandings of purpose, 2) the relationship between management teams’ use of metaphor and investor support for corporate social engagement, and 3) the relationship between firms’ working languages and understandings of purpose. Together, the studies promise to break new ground by showing the latent influence of language on how executives make sense of the purpose of the firm in society and on how communicating purpose in different ways can mould investor reactions.