DO THE EUROPEAN ENTITIES USE IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THEIR MESSAGES ON THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR?

There may be an attempt by entities affected by the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war to obfuscate or emphasize positive news when disclosing it, using impression management strategies. This paper aims to assess the use of those strategies for 212 listed European entities, using 2021 annual consolidated reports. The findings indicate that, within two-thirds of entities that disclosed this event, mainly in voluntary sources, reduced levels of readability were found. Furthermore, although neutrality prevailed, the entities expressed some uncertainty linked to their claim of being immune to the war’s effects. Finally, differences by country and industry were occasionally identified. Keywords: disclosure, impression management, readability manipulation, Russia-Ukraine war, thematic manipulation