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

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

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