Scaling With Purpose: Exploring the Dynamics of Corporate Purpose Implementation. A Single Case Study on the Role of Organizational Growth in Corporate Purpose Implementation at a Startup When Scaling

Abstract: Corporate Purpose has emerged as an evident management trend of the 2020s. Nevertheless, the concept and its implementation in practice are still characterized by much intangibility and ambiguity. By applying a temporal perspective, the authors aim to address a newly identified research gap situated at the intersection of corporate purpose implementation, entrepreneurship, and organizational growth. More specifically, this single case study aims to explore the employee perception of corporate purpose implementation in a scaling startup. Empirics reveal how employees' overall perception of purpose implementation has weakened with organizational growth. The weakened perception is closely related to three main contextual growth factors: increased communication, more diverse recruitment, and increased hierarchies and their influence on the increasing imbalance in employees' knowledge, internalization, and contribution towards the purpose. By investigating purpose implementation in a new empirical setting and from a temporal perspective, empirical findings thus reveal previously unexplored relationships between purpose implementation, organizational growth, and other cross-dimensional dynamics. In addition to these theoretical contributions, the study illustrates the importance of continuously measuring purpose implementation strength and provides relevant tools and practical contributions for firms that wish to remain purpose-driven with growth.