WEF 2015: World's leading companies transforming to drive innovation, growth, says report

DAVOS: Leading companies around the world are transforming themselves with a purpose to drive innovation and growth, a report says.

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, led an event at the World Economic Forum today that unveiled initial findings from this new research by EY and Said Business School, University of Oxford, that highlighted evolution of business and the shift toward "purpose-led" transformation.

"We find in our work with clients and in our thought leadership that purpose-led transformation enhances organisational agility and does so in a way that increases innovation and drives sustainable growth for businesses," EY's Global Advisory Strategy Leader Cheryl Grise said.

A significant majority of corporate leaders said that the role of the organization is evolving to address global challenges and they are speaking a language of "purpose" that engages employees and customers in new ways, the report said.

"We have noticed from a number of conversations with CEOs and senior leaders that defining and implementing 'purpose' is becoming increasingly important to them," Said Business School Associate Dean of Executive Education Andrew White said.

Meanwhile, according to a separate report by EY global research along with Harvard Business Review (HBR) Analytic Services, "corporate purpose" generally goes beyond financial results as 87 per cent believe companies perform best over time if their purpose goes beyond profit.

Moreover, purpose is viewed as a driver of innovation and transformation as 84 per cent respondents believe their transformation efforts would be more successful if integrated with purpose.