Decoupling in CSR reports: A Linguistic Content Analysis of the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal

This study examines whether and how Corporate Social Responsibility reports of firms in the automobile industry differ in regards to their linguistic composition and their decoupling tendencies. Based on Basu and Palazzo’s process model, the Volkswagen emission scandal (‘Dieselgate’) is analyzed from a linguistic content perspective by comparing Volkswagen’s CSR reports with those of its biggest competitors. By applying the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count Software, we identify linguistic characteristics that can help to detect deception markers. More specifically, we show how CSR reports of de-couplers and implementors differ in terms of morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics by developing and applying a linguistic analysis’ framework. The data provided mixed support for our hypotheses. The analysis revealed that de-couplers, among other factors, use more articles, more words per sentences, a more negative emotional tone and fewer words connected to risks and anxiety, while verb tense and informal language only had ambiguous or even no influence. The study contributes to the current understanding of CSR reporting, the debate on CSR decoupling, and the linguistic perspective of CSR research. Moreover, it specifies the linguistic domain of Basu and Palazzo’s process model.