Ricerc@Sapienza

The study proves the presence and articulation of apologetic discourse in CEO and Chairman’s Statements is
closely related to companies’ financial performance. In particular, companies engage extensively in apologetic
discourse when they are underperforming, and less frequently when they are performing well. A comparison
between ACRs issued respectively in 2000, the year before corporate accounting scandals and September 11, and
in 2009, a time of crisis in the markets worldwide, is carried out in the article. The foundations for the study are
to be found in the findings of Ware and Linkugel (1973) that identified four different strategies in apologetic
discourse. In recent years a growing interest for image and reputation management in the corporate domain,
coupled with an increasing awareness of its underlying rhetorical nature, has made the study of apologetic
discourse particularly interesting for business communication scholars.