Impression Management in Corporate Social Reporting, Evidence from BP PLB

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the existence of impression management tools, thematic and rhetoric manipulations, in environmental and corporate disclosures of the firms with poor environmental performances. We considered the passive and active voice, percentage of personal references and positive connotation of writers in corporate reports as the tools for impression management. BP. PLC. Oil spill is the most important accident in the petroleum industry which it enables us to consider it as an ideal case for analyzing the existence of impression management in sustainable report and chairman’s statement. Overall our findings are consistent with existence of impression management.According to our findings, BP’s managers engaged impression management strategies by detaching themselves from writing and applying positive emotions in order to conceal negative performance. This is in consistent with the hypothesis that the firm’s with negative corporate outcomes, managers attempt to control the users and stockholders’ perception.