Strategic Language Across Global Enterprise: A Comparative Content Analysis of Corporate Vision and Mission Statements

Abstract

Corporate vision and mission statements are crucial for organizations to express their purpose and strategic direction. This study explores the characteristics of these statements across 200 companies, including 100 non-pharmaceutical and 100 pharmaceutical enterprises. Through a comparative content-analysis design, the research assesses statement length and thematic orientation in relation to factors such as industry type, organizational age, geographic region, and economic grouping.
The selected statements were subjected to textual processing to measure length and lexical patterns. Various statistical tests were employed to determine differences in statement length and thematic distribution. Results showed no significant length differences between pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical companies or across organizational ages and regions; however, firms in G7 countries had longer statements than those in BRICS countries. The thematic analysis indicated distinct industry differences, with pharmaceutical companies focusing more on "Patient and Health" and "Innovation and Science," while non-pharmaceutical firms emphasized "Customer and Service," "Growth and Leadership," and "Sustainability and Ethics." Overall, the study reveals that while corporate strategic language is generally brief across sectors, it exhibits meaningful industry-specific differences in thematic content. This research enhances the understanding of strategic communication by integrating structural text measurement with thematic analysis across global enterprises.