2012/04/04 by Colin Higgins, Robyn Walker · 300 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Accounting #Business #Discourse Analysis in Language Studies #Ethos #Language, Metaphor, and Cognition #Law #Linguistics #Logos Bible Software #Pathos #Persuasion #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Psychology #Public relations #Rhetoric #Rhetoric and Communication Studies #Social activism #Social psychology #Sociology #Theology
paper · doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003
published in Accounting Forum 36(3), 194-208 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 2012/04/04 · crossref created 2012/04/04 · crossref issued 2012/09/01 · crossref published 2012/09/01 · crossref published-print 2012/09/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · crossref published-online 2019/02/28 · crossref deposited 2024/04/22 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31
We demonstrate how persuasive strategies activate the ‘middle ground’ discourses of responsible and sustainable business constructed in three social/environmental reports. Drawing on insights from impression management and communication studies, and Kenneth Burke's understanding that rhetoric is all pervasive, we focus on Aristotle's rhetorical ‘proofs’: ethos (credibility), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion). We study the social/environmental reports produced by three New Zealand companies during a wider discursive struggle over the ‘proper’ role of business in society. We argue that persuasive strategies facilitate the social effects of ‘middle ground’ discourse by making business-centred understandings of social responsibility and sustainability appear reasonable and business organisations appear trustworthy in their pursuit of sustainable development. This study complements discourse analyses of social/environmental reporting by providing a finer-grained picture of how language use influences how social actors think, feel and act.