In Conversation with Prof. Claudine Gartenberg

Watch the latest ECGI Conversation as Dr. Tom Gosling interviews Claudine Gartenberg, Associate Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Claudine discusses her work on corporate purpose, which she presented as a keynote presentation at the recent ECGI conference on Modern Capitalism and Corporate Purpose in Copenhagen.

The three papers Claudine talks about are:

*  Corporate Purpose and Fiinancial Performance  (Jan 2020) - Read here

*  Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms (Sep 2022) - Read here

*  The Contingent Relationship Between Purpose and Profits (May 2023) - Read here

The key discussion points are:

- There is a positive relationship between corporate purpose and subsequent financial performance but only when corporate purpose is matched with a strategic clarity.

- Although causation cannot be definitively proven, the results are strongly suggestive of a casual relationship.

- The average relationship between purpose and profits hides a lot of variation.

- Private firms and committed owners are more purposeful than public firms and short-term owners.

- Purpose is positively related to profit in firms with high innovation intensity, intangible capital, or long-term investors and is not (or negatively) related with profit in firms and industries without these characteristics.

- Overall, purpose can be a driver of profits in certain terms and context, but is not always: the relationship is highly situational and depends on the context.

To discover more great interviews in this series, visit this page.

ECGI Conversations is an interview series aimed at uncovering valuable insights, ideas, and perspectives from cutting-edge academic research. Hosted by ECGI Executive Fellow, Dr. Tom Gosling, this series delivers engaging discussions with leading experts in the field. The ECGI Conversation Series is part of the Responsible Capitalism initiative.