A Contrastive Study Of Corporate Identity Construction In Chinese And American Corporate Social Responsibility Reports From The Perspective Of Intertextuality

In recent years,with the widespread of disastrous COVID-19,social issues including health,employment,environmental protection,social security,etc.,have drawn more and more attention from the public.In this case,the role of corporate social responsibility(hereinafter,CSR)is becoming increasingly prominent in the process of evaluating corporate performance.Corporate social responsibility reports(hereinafter,CSRRs)has become a powerful instrument for promoting what they have fulfilled in CSR.Studies on CSRRs have witnessed a long history in non-linguistic aspect,however,linguistic studies on CSRRs is still going undergoing a relatively immature stage.To fill in such research gap,this study is in an attempt to conduct a contrastive analysis,probing into the corporate identity construction in Chinese and American CSRRs from the perspective of intertextuality.In this study,three research questions will be answered respectively: 1).What are the similarities and differences in the use of specific and generic intertextuality between Chinese and American CSRRs and how do those intertextual patterns distribute? 2).What are the similarities and differences in the construction of corporate identity in the Chinese and American CSRRs? 3).What are the possible social factors contributing to the similarities and differences in the construction of corporate identity in the Chinese and American CSRRs?To answer the research questions above,30 pieces of Chinese CSRRs as well as 30 pieces of American CSRRs were selected from the official websites of Chinese and American enterprises.A combination of quantitative and qualitative research approach is applied.Firstly,examples of intertextuality in selected corpuses were identified,categorized,and calculated under Xin Bin’s Intertextuality Theory,which follows the comparison of the use of intertextuality in Chinese and American CSRRs.Secondly,how corporate identities are constructed and what types of corporate identities are constructed with the employment of intertextuality were analyzed and compared.Thirdly,on the basis of similarities and differences of corporate identity construction,the social reasons contributing to such phenomena were explained under Verchueren’s Adaptation Theory.It is discovered that both Chinese and American CSRRs utilize intertextuality extensively to construct corporate identity.While American enterprises are tended to utilize generic intertextuality,especially the attachment of charts,Chinese enterprises prefer to employ specific intertextuality,especially quotation and reference.What’ s more,while Chinese enterprises prone to apply allusion in CSRRs,no example can be found in that of the American.In terms of the similarities and differences of corporate identity construction,both Chinese and American CSRRs are tended to construct standardized management,multiparticipation,vanguard and exemplary role in sustainable development identity.In addition,differences exist in the corporate identity construction as well.Chinese CSRRS are tended to construct patriotic identity,while American CSRRs prone to construct pioneer identity.Such similarities and differences can be explained by the social factors including cultural context,political institutions,historical factors,etc.This study will not only provide guidance to domestic enterprises in writing CSRRs to foreign stakeholders,but also lay ground for further research in the linguistic study of CSRRs in the future.