Grounding the Language Games of Business Purpose in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Despite its centrality to organizational identity and strategy, the notion of ‘business purpose’ continues to escape a broadly shared consensus. We propose that this elusiveness may stem from the concept’s family resemblance structure, which resists reduction to a singular, unified definition. Drawing on Wittgensteinian conceptual analysis, we argue that business purpose functions as a variable form of life, constituted through diverse language games across organizational contexts. As contemporary societal challenges increasingly orient business activity toward socially responsible aims, we explore how organizations pursuing such goals can leverage AI-assisted discursive tools to anchor their purposeful identities within the nuanced demands of their evolving environments.