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An ideological content analysis of corporate manifestos: A foundational document approach

  • Jeremy J. Holland EMAIL logo and Elena Nichele
Published/Copyright: November 5, 2015

Abstract

This project involves a socio-linguistic look at corporate discourse in the form of “mission statements.” The analysis is performed by utilizing the foundational document model (FDM) as a theoretical framework for performing ideological content analyses. The FDM is a semantic grammatical model consisting of five sociological categories (ethical norms, folklore narrative, utopian schemes, strategic planning, and role attribution). Stark contrasts are observed between manifestos produced by the two most successful companies in the soft beverage industry (Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.). The comparative analysis performed in this study shows great potential regarding a possible extension and application of the content-analytical framework for those primary texts used when mobilizing collective action.

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Published Online: 2015-11-5
Published in Print: 2016-1-1

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