How do we make you look good? A social network study of upstream organizational impression management and the rhetorical construction of IPO firm images

Kai Lamertz, Martin L. Martens

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We present an upstream model of impression management, focusing on how institutional actors may influence the rhetorical content of images IPO firms present to potential investors. Focusing on impression management to minimize poor and maximize good perceptions, we examined the risk, strategy, and governance images presented in prospectuses of 167 firms who issued an IPO between 1996 and 2000. Our results show that dependence on professional firms and IPO firm network prominence help shape the rhetorical construction of these images and suggest that impression management can be understood in terms of Goffman's team-based effort to control a social interaction situation.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)373-387
    Number of pages15
    JournalCanadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
    Volume28
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec. 2011

    Keywords

    • Impression management
    • IPO
    • Organizational legitimacy
    • Organizational networks
    • Organizational rhetoric

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