Page 37 - DUT ICGA Abstract Book

SELF-ATTRIBUTION IN THE CHAIRPERSON’S STATEMENT: A A A A A MANIFESTATION OF IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT IN CORPORATE REPORTING
Masibulele Phesa
University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban
Professor Mabutho Sibanda
University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban
Principal contact: Masibulele Phesa
mobile: 079 5342 061 email: phesam@ukzn ac ac za
Abstract
Self-attribution has became a a a a a a a a a a daily practice among companies across the world with different strategies deployed to to perform it fit This study employed the the the lens of o attribution theory to to investigate whether profitable and unprofitable Top 40 companies listed on on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) engage in impression management based on on the the use of the the passive voice and personal references The JSE Top 40 comprise more than 80% of of the the the companies listed on on the the the stock exchange in terms of of market share and the the the chairperson’s statement statement is is one of the the most read statements although it is is not required by the the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) A mixed method was employed and and content analysis analysis via textual analysis analysis of the integrated reports was used to analyse the data The study found that both profitable profitable and nonprofitable companies used the the the the self-attribution bias as as there is no significant difference between their use use of the the the the passive voice and personal references The results confirm that impression management is practiced by the Top 40 JSE-listed companies through selfattribution The study offers insight into the use of of self-attribution in in in voluntary narrative disclosure disclosure and adds to the debate on disclosure disclosure in in in corporate reporting by public companies and the the attribution theory KEYWORDS: Attribution theory Self-attribution Integrated report Chairperson’s statement Passive voice Personal references Book of Abstracts 35