We analyze managerial discourse in corporate communication (‘CEO-speak') during a six month period following a legitimacy-threatening event in the form of an incident in a German nuclear power plant. As discourses express specific stances expressed by a group of people who share particular...

Purpose – Prior accounting research views impression management predominantly though the lens of economics. Drawing on social psychology research we provide an alternative perspective on corporate annual narrative reporting as characterised by conditions of ‘ex post accountability' (Aerts,...

Prior research assumes that discretionary disclosures either (a) contribute to useful decision making by overcoming information asymmetries between managers and firm outsiders (informational perspective); or (b) constitute opportunistic behavior whereby managers exploit information asymmetries...