A Comparative Study Of Letters From Top Leaders In Sustainable Development Reports Of Chinese And American Energy Companies

Different from traditional financial reports,sustainable development report(SDR)introduces a company?s efforts,performance and future in sustainable development from the aspects of economy,environment and society.SDR is conducive to communication between a company and its stakeholders,to lowering risks,building trust,maintaining and improving internal and external relations,gaining a good reputation,enhancing competitiveness,etc.However,SDR is in its initial stage in China and needs further research to promote its development.In addition,many Chinese energy companies go public in America,and the target readers of their SDRs are Americans,so this thesis has taken one of the most significant parts in SDR—letter from top leaders(LTL)published by Chinese and American energy companies as the research subject,and has studied it from the perspectives of genre analysis and thematic progression(TP).The purpose is to provide some suggestions for Chinese energy companies on generic structure and preferred TP patterns in each move,so as to help them to build a positive image in American market.Guided by the theories of Bhatia?s move analysis,Hasan?s generic structure potential(GSP)and Huang Yan?s TP patterns,this thesis has conducted a comparative study on LTLs in SDRs published by Chinese and American energy companies from the perspectives of genre analysis and thematic progression.The author has collected 35 English versions of LTLs from Chinese energy companies? SDRs and 35 LTLs from American energy companies? SDRs published from the year 2009 to 2015 from these companies? official websites.This thesis has adopted qualitative analysis method which is to identify moves structures,GSP,and TP patterns in each move.The major findings and suggestions of this study are as follows:(1)In move structures,Chinese and American LTLs share nine moves,such as “conveying corporate values”,“establishing credentials”,etc.Chinese LTLs exclusively have the move “expressing hopes and expectations” while such moves as “introducing the report” and “inviting further reading” have only been identified in American LTLs.(2)In GSP,there are similarities as well as differences between Chinese and American LTLs.For example,“reviewing sustainability efforts”,“making commitments” and “establishing credentials” are all obligatory moves in Chinese and American LTLs.However,“conveying corporate values” is obligatory move in American LTL while optional in Chinese LTLs.Since corporate values will guide a company?s future development and are of great concern to stakeholders,Chinese energy companies should also take it as the obligatory move.(3)In terms of TP patterns,Chinese and American LTLs tend to adopt parallel TP pattern in such moves as “establishing credentials” and “making commitments”,but in the moves “reviewing sustainability efforts” and “describing external environment”,the adoption of TP patterns in American LTLs is more varied than that in Chinese LTLs.Because the move “reviewing sustainability efforts” takes up the bulk of the LTL,and external environment is volatile,Chinese energy companies are supposed to use various TP patterns that are frequently adopted by American LTLs in these two moves.The thesis has both theoretical and practical significance.Theoretically,this study will contribute to the study of LTL in SDR from the perspectives of genre analysis and thematic progression.Practically,it is hoped that this thesis will provide some useful suggestions for Chinese energy companies to write English versions of LTLs so as to help them build a positive image in American market.