  The mission statement(s) (MS) is one of the most-used tools for planning and
management. Universities worldwide have implemented MS in their knowledge
planning and management processes since the 1980s. Research studies have
extensively explored the content and readability of MS and its effect on
performance in firms, but their effect on public or nonprofit institutions such
as universities has not been scrutinized with the same intensity. This study
used Gunning's Fog Index score to determine the readability of a sample of
worldwide universities' MS and two rankings, i.e., Quacquarelli Symonds World
University Ranking and SCImago Institutions Rankings, to determine their effect
on performance. No significant readability differences were identified in
regions, size, focus, research type, age band, or status. Logistic regression
(cumulative link model) results showed that variables, such as universities'
age, focus, and size, have more-significant explanatory power on performance
than MS readability.
