April 2026
Purpose in Business Guide
A guide to profitability, people and planet.
Peer Works, the University of Glasgow and The Productivity Institute Scotland Forum have launched ‘Purpose in Business‘, a practical guide to support SMEs at every stage of their purpose journey.
Drawing on research linking purpose to stronger productivity, it helps businesses improve efficiency, resilience and long-term success through better use of resources, leadership and workplace culture.
With case studies from Scottish firms, the new document provides a practical framework for running a more effective organistion.
It provides clear steps and examples to help organisations define their role and direction, put these into practice and use them to drive productivity, resilience and long‑term success. It builds on a major research project exploring the relationship between business purpose and productivity.
A clear sense of purpose can help businesses improve efficiency, strengthen their market position and reputation, support innovation and build resilience in the face of change.
Increasingly, purpose is seen not as a ‘nice to have’, but as a core way of operating sustainably in a competitive environment – responding to customer expectations, attracting and retaining talent, and future‑proofing organisations against economic and environmental shocks.