How “Ceremonial Openness” prevents organizational change : An analysis of corporate earnings calls in the oil and gas industry, 2007–2020
Incumbent firms resist change as they have much to lose if things go wrong. But inertia can also be costly, particularly in times of crisis. In a world on fire, does corporate transparency foster engagement with external threats to future organizational success? To answer this question, we conduct a...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4106 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/5365/viewcontent/spae045.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Institution: | Singapore Management University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Incumbent firms resist change as they have much to lose if things go wrong. But inertia can also be costly, particularly in times of crisis. In a world on fire, does corporate transparency foster engagement with external threats to future organizational success? To answer this question, we conduct a mixed-methods analysis of 887 public earnings-calls meetings between executives, investors, and outside analysts from 24 major oil and gas companies in 2007-2020, a period marked by extreme weather events and increased popular and political pressure to slow global warming. We find that formal rituals that promote openness and debate to protect investors reproduce the status quo by cultivating narratives that deny the need for change. |
|---|