Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 55 minutes ago
Purpose claims, mission statements, vision statements, and other indicators of company values, ideals, and belief systems have become increasingly common in the practice of recruitment and talent acquisition. In “The Authenticity of Purpose Claims: Firm Capacity and Job Seeker Responses to Recruitment Efforts,“ Oliver Hahl and his co-authors point out that these proclamations often suffer from a perception of cheap talk, or non-binding statements such as “we will change the world” that lack inherent credibility.
Their research indicates that while large organizations use bold mission statements to increase job applications, smaller firms face skepticism regarding their ability to drive social impact. To overcome this authenticity gap, smaller companies must signal competence through high-status affiliations or tangible evidence of their resources, ensuring their moral aspirations align with their actual power to act.
Read the full paper:
León Valdés, Trevor Young-Hyman, Evan Gilbertson, C. B. Bhattacharya, Oliver Hahl (2025). The Authenticity of Purpose Claims: Firm Capacity and Job Seeker Responses to Recruitment Efforts. Management Science 0(0). doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03931
Visit https://tepperspectives.cmu.edu for more articles, videos, and podcasts.
The Tepperspectives podcast is supported in part by the MBA Class of 2016 Technology Fund
Hosted by Emily DeJeu
Produced by John Miller and Nick Wright
Music by Christian Wright
________________________________________________________________________________________________
00:00 - Introduction
03:15 - Interview w/ Oliver Hahl
Purpose claims, mission statements, vision statements, and other indicators of company values, ideals, and belief systems have become increasingly common in the practice of recruitment and talent acquisition. In “The Authenticity of Purpose Claims: Firm Capacity and Job Seeker Responses to Recruitment Efforts,“ Oliver Hahl and his co-authors point out that these proclamations often suffer from a perception of cheap talk, or non-binding statements such as “we will change the world” that lack inherent credibility.
Their research indicates that while large organizations use bold mission statements to increase job applications, smaller firms face skepticism regarding their ability to drive social impact. To overcome this authenticity gap, smaller companies must signal competence through high-status affiliations or tangible evidence of their resources, ensuring their moral aspirations align with their actual power to act.
Read the full paper:
León Valdés, Trevor Young-Hyman, Evan Gilbertson, C. B. Bhattacharya, Oliver Hahl (2025). The Authenticity of Purpose Claims: Firm Capacity and Job Seeker Responses to Recruitment Efforts. Management Science 0(0). doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03931
Visit https://tepperspectives.cmu.edu for more articles, videos, and podcasts.
The Tepperspectives podcast is supported in part by the MBA Class of 2016 Technology Fund
Hosted by Emily DeJeu
Produced by John Miller and Nick Wright
Music by Christian Wright
________________________________________________________________________________________________
00:00 - Introduction
03:15 - Interview w/ Oliver Hahl
