Credibility-boosting devices in corporate annual reports
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14410%2F19%3A00108145" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14410/19:00108145 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/142191/1_BrnoStudiesEnglish_45-2019-2_13.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank" >https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/142191/1_BrnoStudiesEnglish_45-2019-2_13.pdf?sequence=1</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/BSE2019-2-11" target="_blank" >10.5817/BSE2019-2-11</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Credibility-boosting devices in corporate annual reports
Original language description
Apart from their informative, representative, textual and interpersonal functions, annual reports of companies and institutions aim at enhancing the organisations’ image and credibility. According to the theory of communicative action formulated by Habermas (1984), credibility is based on meeting four validity claims, namely truth, sincerity, appropriateness and understandability. Credibility as such can be boosted by presenting or proving two major components, expertise and trust. The paper analyses lexis of company annual reports, with a focus on a sub-genre referred to here as letters from executives (also Letter from a CEO, Chairman´s statement, Chair´s Message, Letter to Shareholders, etc.). These short texts attempt to persuade target readers about a competent management, strong visions, positive current situation and optimistic outlook of the business. Combining the more subjective trustworthiness and a more objectively based provision of credentials and achievements in order to prove expertise, these letters in annual reports aim to persuade readers rather implicitly than explicitly, by establishing contact through direct address, personal endorsement and involvement. The research was carried out on “executive letters” in the business documents subcorpus of the Corpus of English and Czech Specialised Discourses (CECSD 2017), with special emphasis on the selected verbs, nouns and adjectives, and their persuasive potential. It claims that positive and negative connotations of the lexis chosen by persuaders belong to the principal persuasive strategies employed in this genre of specialised discourse.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>SC</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60202 - Specific languages
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/GA17-16195S" target="_blank" >GA17-16195S: Persuasion across English and Czech Specialized Discourses</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)
Others
Publication year
2019
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Brno Studies in English
ISSN
0524-6881
e-ISSN
1805-0867
Volume of the periodical
45
Issue of the periodical within the volume
2
Country of publishing house
CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC
Number of pages
20
Pages from-to
217-236
UT code for WoS article
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EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85081409118