Sustainability‐Oriented Purpose: To Be or to Seem? Evaluating How Sustainability‐Oriented Purpose Statements Affect Environmental, Social, and Economic Performance

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, sustainability has emerged as a defining global priority, reshaping firms' role in driving systemic change. In this context, corporate purpose has gained renewed prominence as a key mechanism to align organizational priorities with broader societal commitments. Nevertheless, embedding sustainability within corporate purpose does not necessarily translate into tangible outcomes. As sustainability narrative may exceed organizational implementation, purpose may signal commitment without corresponding improvements in environmental, social, or economic results. Yet, empirical evidence linking sustainability‐oriented purpose to measurable performance outcomes remains limited. To address this gap, this study analyzes 333 European manufacturing firms, combining structured content analysis of corporate purpose statements with weighted least squares regression to examine whether sustainability‐oriented purpose articulation is associated with higher corporate environmental, social, and economic performance. Findings indicate positive associations between sustainability‐oriented purpose and both sustainability and economic performance, offering new empirical insights into how sustainability themes embedded in corporate purpose relate to firm‐level outcomes.