Cover not available

Article published In: Dialogicity in Framing Environmental Discourse
Edited by Marina Bondi and Judith Turnbull
[Language and Dialogue 15:1] 2025
► pp. 56–80

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Self-mentions and stakeholders in climate change discourse

The case of banks

 | City University of Hong Kong
 | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
 | City University of Hong Kong
Published online: 14 January 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.00187.ner
Abstract
The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the perspectives of various stakeholders involved in climate change discourse within the financial sector. This paper focuses on sustainability and analyzes a corpus of approximately 30,000 words derived from the sustainability reports of four of the top 100 banks, as identified in the 2022 Standard and Poor’s ranking. The study utilizes corpus analysis tools to identify metadiscursive interactional features of self-mention (. 2005. Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and references to stakeholders, highlighting how these banks position themselves and engage with stakeholders in discussions related to climate change. It contributes to the literature on financial discourse and climate change and offers insights for companies seeking financial support by aligning their applications with bank narratives.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Studies on climate change in business, management and accounting
    • 2.2Studies of climate change in communication and linguistics
    • 2.3Metadiscursive interactional features
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Procedure
  • 4.Findings and discussion
    • 4.1Frequency analysis of self-mention markers
    • 4.2Self-mentions in the corpus
    • 4.3Frequency analysis of stakeholders
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
References (37)
References
Anthony, Laurence. 2024. AntConc (Version 4.3.1) [Computer software]. Waseda University. [URL]
Boiral, Olivier, and Jean-François Henri. 2017. “Is Sustainability Performance Comparable? A Study of GRI Reports of Mining Organizations.” Business & Society 56(2): 283–317. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bondi, Marina. 2022. “Dialogicity in Individual and Institutional Scientific Blogs.” Publications (Basel) 10(1): 9. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cormier, Denis, and Michel Magnan. 2015. “The Economic Relevance of Environmental Disclosure and Its Impact on Corporate Legitimacy: An Empirical Investigation.” Business Strategy and the Environment 24(6): 431–50. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dienes, Dominik, Remmer Sassen, and Jasmin Fischer. 2016. “What Are the Drivers of Sustainability Reporting? A Systematic Review.” Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal (Print) 7(2): 154–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diouf, Dominique, and Olivier Boiral. 2017. “The Quality of Sustainability Reports and Impression Management: A Stakeholder Perspective.” Accounting, Auditing, & Accountability 30(3): 643–67. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fuoli, Matteo. 2018. “Building a Trustworthy Corporate Identity: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Stance in Annual and Corporate Social Responsibility Reports.” Applied Linguistics 39(6): 846–85. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fuoli, Matteo, and Christopher Hart. 2018. “Trust-Building Strategies in Corporate Discourse: An Experimental Study.” Discourse & Society 29 (5): 514–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gosden, H. 1993. “Discourse Functions of Subject in Scientific Research Articles.” Applied Linguistics 14 (1): 56–75. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
GRI. 2021. “GRI Standards.” Global Reporting Initiative. [URL]
Hahn, Rüdiger, and Regina Lülfs. 2014. “Legitimizing Negative Aspects in GRI-Oriented Sustainability Reporting: A Qualitative Analysis of Corporate Disclosure Strategies.” Journal of Business Ethics 123(3): 401–20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hahn, Rüdiger, Daniel Reimsbach, and Frank Schiemann. 2015. “Organizations, Climate Change, and Transparency: Reviewing the Literature on Carbon Disclosure.” Organization & Environment 28(1): 80–102. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Higgins, Colin, and Robyn Walker. 2012. “Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Strategies of Persuasion in Social/Environmental Reports.” Accounting Forum 36(3): 194–208. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hyland, Ken. 1998. “Exploring Corporate Rhetoric: Metadiscourse in the CEO’s Letter.” The Journal of Business Communication (1973) 35(2): 224–44. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2005. Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kouloukoui, Daniel, Ângelo Marcio Oliveira Sant’Anna, Sônia Maria Silva Gomes, Marcia Mara Oliveira Marinho, Pieter Jong, Asher Kiperstok, and Ednildo Andrade Torres. 2019. “Factors Influencing the Level of Environmental Disclosures in Sustainability Reports: Case of Climate Risk Disclosure by Brazilian Companies.” Corporate Social-Responsibility and Environmental Management 26(4): 791–804. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laufer, William S. 2003. “Social Accountability and Corporate Greenwashing.” Journal of Business Ethics 43(3): 253–61. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lischinsky, Alon. 2011. “The Discursive Construction of a Responsible Corporate Self.” In Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise: Where Business Meets Discourse, ed. by Giuliana E. Garzone, and Giordano Walter, 257–285. Bern: Peter Lang. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lores, Rosa. 2004. “On RA Abstracts: From Rhetorical Structure to Thematic Organisation.” English for Specific Purposes 23(3): 280–302. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lyon, Thomas P., and A. Wren Montgomery. 2015. “The Means and End of Greenwash.” Organization & Environment 28(2): 223–49. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Malavasi, Donatella. 2007. “Lexical analysis of implicit promotional devices in bank annual reports.” ILCEA. Revue de l’Institut des langues et cultures d’Europe, Amérique, Afrique, Asie et Australie 91: 171–184. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2008. “Banks’ Annual Reports: An Overview of the Linguistic Means Used to Express Evaluation.” Language and Bias in Specialized Discourse: 139–152.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michelon, Giovanna, Silvia Pilonato, and Federica Ricceri. 2015. “CSR Reporting Practices and the Quality of Disclosure: An Empirical Analysis.” Critical Perspectives on Accounting 331: 59–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Milne, Markus J., Helen Tregidga, and Sara Walton. 2009. “Words Not Actions!: The Ideological Role of Sustainable Development Reporting.” Accounting, Auditing, & Accountability 22(4): 1211–1257. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moser, Susanne C. 2010. “Communicating Climate Change: History, Challenges, Process and Future Directions.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Climate Change 1(1): 31–53. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mur Dueñas, Pilar. 2007. “‘I/We Focus on…’: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Self-Mentions in Business Management Research Articles.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes 6(2): 143–62. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nerlich, Brigitte, Nelya Koteyko, and Brian Brown. 2010. “Theory and Language of Climate Change Communication.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Climate Change 1(1): 97–110. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nervino, Esterina, Joyce Oiwun Cheung, and Jiayi Chen. 2024. “Charting the Path of Sustainability Discourse Research: A Systematic Review of Applied Linguistic Studies.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 34(3): 862–83. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Savijoki, Essi. 2023. “Creating Persuasion: Textual and Visual Metadiscourse in a Corporate Sustainability Report.” Master’s thesis, University of Helsinki.
Talbot, David, and Olivier Boiral. 2018. “GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector.” Journal of Business Ethics 147(2): 367–83. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yu, Danni. 2020. “Corporate Environmentalism: A Critical Metaphor Analysis of Chinese, American, and Italian Corporate Social Responsibility Reports.” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 63(3): 1–15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vázquez Orta, Ignacio. 2009. “A Contrastive Analysis of the Use of Modal Verbs in the Expression of Epistemic Stance in Business Management Research Articles in English and Spanish.” Ibérica (Castellón de La Plana, Spain) 19(19): 77–96.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wells, Victoria, Navdeep Athwal, Esterina Nervino, and Marylyn Carrigan. 2021. “How Legitimate Are the Environmental Sustainability Claims of Luxury Conglomerates?” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 25(4): 697–722. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Nguyen, Minh Hieu
2025. Identity construction in corporate leaders’ messages: A corpus-based cross-linguacultural study of self-mention. English for Specific Purposes 80 ► pp. 109 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue