Managing impressions during uncertainty using CEO appointment announcements: evidence from Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis

Purpose This study examines how organisations adapt CEO appointment announcements as an organisational impression management strategy during periods of externally generated uncertainty. Specifically, it investigates whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the use of impression management tactics in CEO appointment announcements issued by Australian listed companies. Design/methodology/approach Using content analysis, the study examines and compares the narratives of 569 CEO appointment announcements issued by Australian listed companies, comprising 314 announcements made before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and 255 issued in the post-pandemic period. Findings The findings show that CEO appointment announcements were used strategically for organisational impression management, with disclosure narratives adapting as the pandemic evolved. Organisations relied on assertive impression management to address uncertainty associated with CEO succession, while ingratiation and defensive tactics became more prominent during periods of heightened external uncertainty. These results demonstrate that impression management strategies are contingent on both the source and intensity of organisational uncertainty. Research limitations/implications This study extends impression management theory by showing that organisational disclosure strategies vary according to whether uncertainty arises from internal organisational events or external environmental crises. It also contributes to the CEO succession literature by showing how leadership transition disclosures are strategically adapted to manage different sources of stakeholder uncertainty. Originality/value This study is among the first to examine CEO appointment announcements through the lens of organisational impression management in the context of an exogenous crisis. By distinguishing between internally and externally generated sources of uncertainty, it offers new evidence that impression management strategies are responsive to changing organisational contexts.