Romanian Corporate Discourse Within the Context of Digital Transformation: A Multi-Methodological Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract This research investigates how the health crisis influenced digital technology adoption in the official discourse of Bucharest Stock Exchange companies by analysing annual financial reports from 2017 to 2024, divided into pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and post-pandemic (2020-2024) periods. The study employs a comprehensive methodology on 120 annual reports from BET index companies, using: (1) TF-IDF score calculations to quantify technology term relevance; (2) event studies assessing pandemic impact; (3) Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling; (4) longitudinal topic distribution analysis; and (5) regression modelling with dummy variables. Results confirm all five hypotheses. TF-IDF scores reveal significant technological terminology increases during 2020-2021, followed by gradual stabilization. Event study analysis demonstrates substantial pandemic-driven transformations, with teleworking and digitization terms increasing 116.09% and new telework concepts emerging. LDA modelling identified major thematic reconfiguration, shifting from blockchain and automation focus to digital infrastructure and cybersecurity dominance. Regression models confirm the pandemic’s catalytic effect through statistically significant post-COVID dummy variable coefficients. The findings highlight the pandemic’s impact on corporate digital discourse transformation among Romanian public companies.