A Critical Metaphor Analysis Of Identity Construction In The Corporate Annual Reports Of Chinese And American New Energy Companies

Corporate identity is a category of institutional identity that can directly affect the evaluation of companies by society.Metaphor is a conscious discourse choice and an important means of identity construction,which can reflect social relations and social identity.Therefore,this thesis focuses on the construction of corporate identity from the perspective of critical metaphor analysis.In the light of the paradigm of Critical Metaphor Analysis(CMA),this thesis combines quantitative and qualitative analysis to reveal how corporate identities are metaphorically constructed.This thesis aims to answer three research questions listed as follows:(1)What conceptual metaphors are used by Chinese and American new energy companies in their annual reports?(2)How are the conceptual metaphors in the annual reports constructed and how do Chinese and American new energy companies construct their corporate identities through conceptual metaphors?(3)What kind of corporate identity or image do Chinese and American new energy companies construct through conceptual metaphors in the political,economic and cultural dimensions?An exploration of the types and mapping process of conceptual metaphors reveals:(1)There are differences in the use of conceptual metaphors between Chinese and American new energy companies.Chinese new energy companies use 11 conceptual metaphors.American new energy companies use 10 conceptual metaphors.(2)Chinese and American new energy companies use journey metaphor,building metaphor,human metaphor and measurement metaphor to connect the company to the source domain to achieve semantic transfer.The concepts related to journey,building,human and measurement(source domain)are projected onto the concepts related to the company(target domain)to achieve new perceptions.The similarities between the source and target domains can help shape the corporate identities.(3)In the political dimension,Chinese new energy companies prefer to be the pioneers,leaders and practitioners of energy transition policies.American new energy companies tend to build their corporate identity of explorers.In the economic dimension,Chinese new energy companies present themselves as economic builders.American new energy companies construct corporate identity of main economic contributors with strong competitive abilities.In the cultural dimension,Chinese new energy companies tend to construct corporate identities of industry leaders.American new energy companies focus on establishing the corporate identity of partners.This thesis enriches the practice of critical metaphor analysis and provides a new perspective for the study of metaphors in business discourse.At the same time,it provides an effective reference for how Chinese and American new energy companies construct a good image through their annual reports,so as to enhance their brand influence and international market competitiveness.