IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/buseth/v30y2021i4p485-506.html

Impression management tactics in the CEO statements of Turkish sustainability reports

Author

Listed:
  • Arzu Ozsozgun Caliskan
  • Emel Esen
  • Ralf Barkemeyer

Abstract

In this study, we construct a classificatory scheme of impression management tactics and apply it to a sample of sustainability report and annual report CEO statements issued by large Turkish companies. We find a wide range of impression management tactics applied in both types of CEO statements. However, impression management in sustainability report CEO statements emerges as more limited and uniform, revealing clearer prioritizations of impression management tactics when compared to annual report CEO statements. Sustainability report CEO statements emphasize tactics that allow the company to highlight carefully selected, isolated aspects of their sustainability engagement. At the same time, they rarely employ tactics that are geared towards more systematic (quantitative) performance evaluation. We attribute these differences to the way in which corporate sustainability performance is commonly conceptualized and evaluated, emphasising qualitative performance dimensions rather than the reporting of quantitative performance metrics. This results in the application of a different impression management tactics mix and limits the usefulness of sustainability reports as an accountability mechanism when compared to corporate annual reports. In addition, we provide tentative evidence for the context‐specific nature of impression management, with the choice of impression management tactics reflecting the institutional environment a company is based in.

Suggested Citation

  • Arzu Ozsozgun Caliskan & Emel Esen & Ralf Barkemeyer, 2021. "Impression management tactics in the CEO statements of Turkish sustainability reports," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 485-506, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:485-506
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12374
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12374
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12374?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570610679100 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-04-2015-2044 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Marco Fasan, 2013. "Annual Reports, Sustainability Reports and Integrated Reports: Trends in Corporate Disclosure," Springer Books, in: Cristiano Busco & Mark L. Frigo & Angelo Riccaboni & Paolo Quattrone (ed.), Integrated Reporting, edition 127, chapter 3, pages 41-57, Springer.
    4. Michael John Jones, 2011. "The nature, use and impression management of graphs in social and environmental accounting," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 75-89, June.
    5. Valentina Marano & Peter Tashman & Tatiana Kostova, 2017. "Escaping the iron cage: Liabilities of origin and CSR reporting of emerging market multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(3), pages 386-408, April.
    6. Aerts, Walter, 2005. "Picking up the pieces: impression management in the retrospective attributional framing of accounting outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 493-517, August.
    7. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2012. "What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(9), pages 834-864, December.
    8. Ralf Barkemeyer & Breeda Comyns & Frank Figge & Giulio Napolitano, 2014. "CEO statements in sustainability reports: Substantive information or background noise?," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 241-257, December.
    9. Niamh Brennan & Encarna Guillamon-Saorin & Aileen Pierce, 2009. "Impression management : developing and illustrating a scheme of analysis for narrative disclosures – a methodological note," Open Access publications 10197/2905, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    10. Liu, Pu & Nguyen, Hazel T., 2020. "CEO characteristics and tone at the top inconsistency," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    11. Hooghiemstra, Reggy, 2010. "Letters to the shareholders: A content analysis comparison of letters written by CEOs in the United States and Japan," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 275-300, September.
    12. Solomon, Jill F. & Solomon, Aris & Joseph, Nathan L. & Norton, Simon D., 2013. "Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 195-213.
    13. Hannele Mäkelä & Matias Laine, 2011. "A CEO with many messages: Comparing the ideological representations provided by different corporate reports," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 217-231, December.
    14. Kimberly D. Elsbach & Robert I. Sutton & Kristine E. Principe, 1998. "Averting Expected Challenges Through Anticipatory Impression Management: A Study of Hospital Billing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(1), pages 68-86, February.
    15. Maria Sandberg & Maria Holmlund, 2015. "Impression management tactics in sustainability reporting," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(4), pages 677-689, October.
    16. Ralf Barkemeyer & Lutz Preuss & Lindsay Lee, 2015. "Corporate reporting on corruption: An international comparison," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 349-365, December.
    17. Yei-Yi Chen & WenChang Fang, 2008. "The Moderating Effect of Impression Management on the Organizational Politics–Performance Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 79(3), pages 263-277, May.
    18. Maria Sandberg & Maria Holmlund, 2015. "Impression management tactics in sustainability reporting," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(4), pages 677-689, October.
    19. Doris M. Merkl-Davies & Niamh M. Brennan, 2011. "A conceptual framework of impression management: new insights from psychology, sociology and critical perspectives," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 415-437, December.
    20. Dominique Diouf & Olivier Boiral, 2017. "The quality of sustainability reports and impression management," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(3), pages 643-667, March.
    21. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    22. Carol A. Tilt, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility research: the importance of context," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-9, December.
    23. Hooghiemstra, Reggy, 2010. "Reply to discussion of "Letters to the shareholders: A content analysis comparison of letters written by CEOs in the U.S. and Japan"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 303-305, September.
    24. Doris M. Merkl-Davies & Niamh Brennan, 2007. "Discretionary disclosure strategies in corporate narratives : incremental information or impression management?," Open Access publications 10197/2907, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    25. Azlan Bin Amran & S. Susela Devi, 2007. "Corporate Social Reporting in Malaysia: an institutional perspective," World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 20-36.
    26. Jones, Michael John, 2011. "The nature, use and impression management of graphs in social and environmental accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 75-89.
    27. Waris Ali & Jedrzej George Frynas & Zeeshan Mahmood, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure in Developed and Developing Countries: A Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(4), pages 273-294, July.
    28. Jayne Godfrey & Paul Mather & Alan Ramsay, 2003. "Earnings and Impression Management in Financial Reports: The Case of CEO Changes," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 39(1), pages 95-123, February.
    29. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2018. "GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 367-383, January.
    30. Russell J. Craig & Niamh M. Brennan, 2012. "An exploration of the relationship between language choice in CEO letters to shareholders and corporate reputation," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 166-177, September.
    31. Pratima Bansal & Geoffrey Kistruck, 2006. "Seeing Is (Not) Believing: Managing the Impressions of the Firm’s Commitment to the Natural Environment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 165-180, August.
    32. Markus J. Milne & Helen Tregidga & Sara Walton, 2009. "Words not actions! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(8), pages 1211-1257, October.
    33. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513579510086795 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Mark A. Clatworthy & Michael John Jones, 2006. "Differential patterns of textual characteristics and company performance in the chairman's statement," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 493-511, July.
    35. Ignacio J. Duran & Pablo Rodrigo, 2018. "Why Do Firms in Emerging Markets Report? A Stakeholder Theory Approach to Study the Determinants of Non-Financial Disclosure in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, August.
    36. Higgins, Colin & Walker, Robyn, 2012. "Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 194-208.
    37. Lori Holder-Webb & Jeffrey Cohen & Leda Nath & David Wood, 2009. "The Supply of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures Among U.S. Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(4), pages 497-527, February.
    38. Aerts, Walter, 1994. "On the use of accounting logic as an explanatory category in narrative accounting disclosures," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 337-353.
    39. Kolk, Ans, 2010. "Trajectories of sustainability reporting by MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 367-374, October.
    40. Markus J. Milne & Helen Tregidga & Sara Walton, 2009. "Words not actions! The ideological role of sustainable development reporting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(8), pages 1211-1257, October.
    41. Niamh Brennan & Doris M. Merkl-Davies, 2013. "Accounting Narratives and Impression Management," Open Access publications 10197/4949, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    42. Sue Hrasky, 2012. "Visual disclosure strategies adopted by more and less sustainability-driven companies," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 154-165, September.
    43. Hrasky, Sue, 2012. "Visual disclosure strategies adopted by more and less sustainability-driven companies," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 154-165.
    44. Kris Boudt & James Thewissen, 2019. "Jockeying for Position in CEO Letters: Impression Management and Sentiment Analytics," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 48(1), pages 77-115, March.
    45. Preuss, Lutz & Barkemeyer, Ralf & Glavas, Ante, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Country Multinationals: Identifying Company and Country-Level Influences," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 347-378, July.
    46. John K. Courtis, 1995. "Readability of annual reports: Western versus Asian evidence," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(2), pages 4-17, May.
    47. Scott Connors & Stephen Anderson-MacDonald & Matthew Thomson, 2017. "Overcoming the ‘Window Dressing’ Effect: Mitigating the Negative Effects of Inherent Skepticism Towards Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 599-621, October.
    48. Anselm Schneider & Erika Meins, 2012. "Two Dimensions of Corporate Sustainability Assessment: Towards a Comprehensive Framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 211-222, May.
    49. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570910999292 is not listed on IDEAS
    50. Mark Clatworthy & Michael Jones, 2003. "Financial reporting of good news and bad news: evidence from accounting narratives," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 171-185.
    51. Lúcia Lima Rodrigues & Francisca Tejedo-Romero & Russell Craig, 2017. "Corporate governance and intellectual capital reporting in a period of financial crisis: Evidence from Portugal," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 14(1), pages 1-29, February.
    52. Mäkelä, Hannele & Laine, Matias, 2011. "A CEO with many messages: Comparing the ideological representations provided by different corporate reports," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 217-231.
    53. Mark A. Clatworthy & Michael John Jones, 2006. "Differential patterns of textual characteristics and company performance in the chairman's statement," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 493-511, July.
    54. Preston, Alistair M. & Wright, Christopher & Young, Joni J., 1996. "IMag[in]ing annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 113-137, January.
    55. García Osma, Beatriz & Guillamón-Saorín, Encarna, 2011. "Corporate governance and impression management in annual results press releases," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 187-208.
    56. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    57. Aaron K. Chatterji & Rodolphe Durand & David I. Levine & Samuel Touboul, 2016. "Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(8), pages 1597-1614, August.
    58. Colin Higgins & Robyn Walker, 2012. "Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 194-208, September.
    59. Stuart Cooper & Richard Slack, 2015. "Reporting practice, impression management and company performance: a longitudinal and comparative analysis of water leakage disclosure," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(6-7), pages 801-840, December.
    60. Dror Etzion & Fabrizio Ferraro, 2010. "The Role of Analogy in the Institutionalization of Sustainability Reporting," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 1092-1107, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Weiwei Zheng & Yanling Lian & Xue Cui & Han Sun, 2024. "A double‐edged sword: Interim CEO and corporate social (ir)responsibility activities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5777-5800, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beattie, Vivien, 2014. "Accounting narratives and the narrative turn in accounting research: Issues, theory, methodology, methods and a research framework," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 111-134.
    2. Tuvana Cüre & Emel Esen & Arzu Özsözgün Çalışkan, 2020. "Impression Management in Graphical Representation of Economic, Social, and Environmental Issues: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Saverio Bozzolan & Giovanna Michelon & Marco Mattei & Andrea Giornetti, 2019. "Signing the letter to shareholders: Does the Signatory?s role relate to impression management?," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1), pages 37-82.
    4. Kshitij Khanna & Helen Irvine, 2018. "Communicating the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Annual Reports: A Study of Australian NGOs," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 109-126, March.
    5. Liu, Siwen & Heijden, Hans van der, 2025. "Self-regulation and self-presentation in sustainability reporting: Evidence from firms’ voluntary water disclosure," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    6. Moreno, Alonso & Jones, Michael John, 2022. "Impression management in corporate annual reports during the global financial crisis," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 503-517.
    7. Perkiss, Stephanie & Bernardi, Cristiana & Dumay, John & Haslam, Jim, 2021. "A sticky chocolate problem: Impression management and counter accounts in the shaping of corporate image," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Albrecht, Disen Huang & Anantharaman, Divya & Zhao, Keyi, 2025. "Is a picture worth a thousand words? Image usage in ESG reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    9. Charles H. Cho & Matias Laine & Robin W. Roberts & Michelle Rodrigue, 2018. "The Frontstage and Backstage of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bill," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 865-886, October.
    10. K. I. Dandago & Abubakar Modibbo, 2022. "Accounting Narratives And Impression Management In Corporate Reporting: A Review," Annals of University of Craiova - Economic Sciences Series, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 2(50), pages 56-76, December.
    11. Moreno, Alonso, 2024. "Impression management in bilingual corporate reporting: An analysis of textual characteristics in Spanish and English," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    12. Adelaide Martins & Delfina Gomes & Manuel Castelo Branco, 2020. "Managing Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure: An Accountability vs. Impression Management Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Niamh Brennan & Doris M. Merkl-Davies, 2013. "Accounting Narratives and Impression Management," Open Access publications 10197/4949, Research Repository, University College Dublin.
    14. Hazianti Abdul Halim, 2016. "Visual Representations Strategies in Chairperson’s Statement in Malaysia: An Analysis of Impression Management," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(12), pages 245-255, December.
    15. Maria-Silvia Sandulescu, 2017. "Impression management – an international perspective," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 15(148), pages 605-605.
    16. Renato Camodeca & Alex Almici & Umberto Sagliaschi, 2018. "Sustainability Disclosure in Integrated Reporting: Does It Matter to Investors? A Cheap Talk Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-34, November.
    17. Agne Sneideriene & Renata Legenzova, 2025. "Uncovering Greenwashing: Investigating Impression Management Gap in Corporate Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-27, September.
    18. Kanbaty, Majid & Hellmann, Andreas & He, Liyu, 2020. "Infographics in corporate sustainability reports: Providing useful information or used for impression management?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    19. Tiffany Cheng-Han Leung & Robin Stanley Snell, 2021. "Strategies for Social and Environmental Disclosure: The Case of Multinational Gambling Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 447-467, January.
    20. F. Cappellieri & R. Vinciguerra & A. Ricciardi & M. Pizzo, 2025. "Independent minority directors against self-serving and manipulative practices in non- financial reporting," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(2), pages 453-501, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:485-506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26946424 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.