Tracing the evolutionary path of visual disclosure research in corporate reporting: a longitudinal coword analysis and study agenda

In corporate reporting, the communication of financial and nonfinancial information to target audiences takes various forms, commonly categorized into numerical (monetary and nonmonetary), narrative and visual disclosure (Abhayawansa and Azim, 2014; Ruggiero and Bachiller, 2023). Visual disclosure – or information conveyed through visual content – complements narrative and numerical disclosures, potentially enhancing comprehensive corporate reporting communication to stakeholders and assisting investors’ decisions (Widyatama and Narsa, 2023). Visual content includes graphs (Beattie and Jones, 2008), pictures and photographs (Davison, 2007; Dhanani, 2019), tables, figures (Momin et al., 2023), charts, maps, diagrams (Havemo, 2018a), infographics (Kanbaty et al., 2020), and other materials such as colors (Courtis, 2004), logos, impactful headings, subheadings, bullet points, bold and font size, and paratextual framing of documents (Davison, 2011; Haji and Hossain, 2016). Consequently, visual disclosure permeates reports’ entire graphical and esthetic architecture (García‐Sánchez and Araújo‐Bernardo, 2020). Far from being mere decoration materials, visual content – also referred to as visual media – can convey an organization’s performance, corporate values, strategies, risks, intentions and identities, influencing stakeholders’ perceptions (Davison, 2014; Havemo, 2018a; Guthrie et al., 2020). They hold both communicative and persuasive power, offering opportunities for enhanced understanding while raising concerns about their potential use in impression management (Kanbaty et al., 2024).

Visual media are widespread in contemporary corporate reporting. They are used to disclose financial information in mandatory financial reporting practices (Cohen et al., 2022), nonfinancial information in mostly voluntary sustainability reporting practices (Invernizzi et al., 2022), and both financial and nonfinancial information in mostly voluntary integrated reporting practices (Guthrie et al., 2020). Visual disclosure is becoming increasingly central to organizations’ comprehensive communication and reporting strategy, driven by their growing need to manage and report on intangible data (Davison, 2014; Abeysekera, 2019; Zeng et al., 2022). Given the rise in visual disclosure practices and their impact on integrated reporting for investors’ decision-making (Ali et al., 2021; Widyatama and Narsa, 2023), visual media usage in corporate reporting is a topical issue. Moreover, a contemporary visual turn in accounting, accelerated by digital communication (Davison, 2015), significantly involves corporate reports. The disruptive adoption of emerging digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), is now transforming accounting information systems (Zhang and Murthy, 2024) and business communication with stakeholders, providing unprecedented opportunities and risks to leverage and develop visual disclosures within reports. Yet, scholarly interest seems to remain primarily focused on their narrative turn, and thus, research on visual disclosure in corporate reporting is still limited (Ruggiero and Bachiller, 2023). Tracing the evolutionary path of this research, as explored in this paper, could provide a historical overview, identify emerging trends, assess progress, and inspire future studies. Such a path in comprehensive studies has not yet been specifically mapped, which can also be relevant to updating prior literature reviews focused on graphs (Beattie and Jones, 2008; Penrose, 2008), or other visuals, particularly pictures/photographs (Davison, 2015).

Building upon these rationales, this study explored the conceptual structure evolution of visual disclosure research in corporate reporting, aiming to enhance understanding of the current state of knowledge and propose a research agenda. This focus is particularly relevant given stakeholders’ increased information needs regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and in light of the digital transformation involving visual communication strategies in reporting – two key motivating factors behind this study. Specifically, the study articulated the following research objectives:

• to outline key performances of the visual disclosure research components in corporate reporting, such as annual publication trends, the most cited works, and the most productive journals, authors, and countries shaping this research;

• to explore the thematic evolution shaping the conceptual content of visual disclosure research over the years; and

• to examine the evolution in the adoption of theoretical perspectives.

The study was therefore guided by three research questions (RQ):

Descriptive statistics and longitudinal coword analysis of 210 articles published between 1989 and 2023 were conducted to answer RQ1 and RQ2. Coword analysis is a bibliometric method that maps a research field’s conceptual evolution in its thematic focus by analyzing relationships between key terms within a body of literature (Callon et al., 1983). The bibliographic data set of the articles was compiled in Scopus, supplemented by backward and forward snowballing sampling techniques and a Web of Science (WoS) search. Longitudinal thematic network maps were generated across three consecutive subperiods, with a supplemental full-text review of articles conducted to interpret the results further and identify the underlying theories in response to RQ3. The study’s results outline how visual disclosure research in corporate reporting has evolved. They highlight key research performances, the distinctive themes that have gradually surfaced in the studies, their trajectories, theoretical perspectives and gaps relevant to future research development.

This study is the first to trace the thematic developments of studies that addressed visual disclosure in corporate reporting over time, shedding light on changes in focus and current trends alongside their theoretical underpinnings. By presenting a longitudinal examination that chronicles the thematic and theoretical evolution of visual disclosure research, it provides insights contributing to further ongoing research on visual reporting. Notably, the study identified relevant unexplored areas that point to possibilities for future research. These include the role of visual disclosure in integrating reporting of structured ESG performance dimensions, particularly concerning its governance pillar, in light of evolving regulations and the recent surge in interest around ESG performance and ratings; the need for more evidence on the positive potential of visual disclosure to inform stakeholders about corporate value creation in integrated reporting, both with financial and ESG data; the opportunities and risks posed by emerging digital technologies; and broader engagement with theoretical frameworks beyond impression management and legitimacy. The study’s insights into the thematic developments of visual disclosure research may also inform corporate reporting practices by inspiring organizations to design reliable strategies to ensure its effective use and avoid misuse for impression management, aligning with the demands of investors and other stakeholders for substantive and holistic corporate performance disclosure.

After this introduction, the paper proceeds as follows. Section 2 provides a literature overview of visual disclosure-related arguments in corporate reporting. Section 3 describes the longitudinal coword analysis methodology adopted in this study, with the results illustrated and interpreted in Section 4. Section 5 outlines the study’s implications and future research agenda, with conclusions highlighted in Section 6.

Corporate reporting utilizes numbers, narratives and visual content to disclose financial and nonfinancial information through different reporting tools to meet the needs of investors and stakeholders. Financial reporting provides mandatory information on corporate financial performance and health to financial audiences and is traditionally associated with annual reports, which combine financial and narrative sections (Penrose, 2008). Annual reports also include visual media, helping convey an organization’s sustainable identity (Campbell et al., 2009; Havemo, 2018a).

Non-financial information, mostly voluntary, is specific to sustainability reporting aimed at broad audiences (Guthrie et al., 2020). Traditionally, sustainability reporting discloses an organization’s triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental performance reflected in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, where visual communication is gaining prominence (Lock and Araujo, 2020). However, sustainability reporting themes, which the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework categorized into economic, environmental, labor practice, society and product responsibility, are also shaped by evolving regulations (Momin et al., 2023).

Nonfinancial and financial information can also be integrated into a single report to provide a holistic disclosure of the corporate value-creation process over time. Integrated reporting addresses growing stakeholder demands for comprehensive performance information, including corporate governance matters (Stone and Lodhia, 2019). Its adoption is driven by the increasing mandate for nonfinancial sustainability information and alignment with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). Integrated reporting represents the contemporary frontier of corporate reporting, overcoming traditional financial reporting limitations by embracing multiple capital reporting and highlighting governance practices in managing broader risks (Haji and Hossain, 2016; Guthrie et al., 2020).

While traditionally less studied than numerical and narrative disclosures (Davison and Giovannoni, 2023), visual disclosure is progressively gaining attention in accounting scholarship, particularly in intellectual capital reporting, CSR/sustainability and integrated reporting (Abhayawansa and Guthrie, 2016; Lock and Araujo, 2020; Nicolò et al., 2022).

Accounting scholarship has traditionally neglected “how accounting texts can be explored for their pictorial form,” historically focusing on narrative texts and numerical data as information carriers (Quattrone, 2009, p. 113). Over the years, some academic journals promoted a visual focus in accounting studies. Accounting, Organizations and Society devoted a seminal special issue to photographic imagery within annual reports in 1996 (Hopwood, 1996). The three pioneering papers featured in this special issue emphasized the role of visual images within annual reports to convey societal institutional contexts, values and relationships (Graves et al., 1996; McKinstry, 1996; Preston et al., 1996). In introducing these papers, Hopwood (1996) highlighted the importance of considering the entire content of reports rather than solely its technical parts. As Preston et al. (1996) noted, annual reports started using visual images around the late 1980s as a marketing tool through which companies create and manage their image conveyed to investors and the public.

Reiterating a prevalent oversight among scholars, Davison and Warren (2009) promoted a special issue in 2009 within the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal devoted to “visual perspectives on accounting and accountability,” comprising six articles. These articles covered diverse topics, namely, the evolution of the accountants’ image in accounting software advertisements (Baldvinsdottir et al., 2009); the interactions of visual branding with business practices (Davison, 2009); the implications of human images in annual reports on corporate accountability (Campbell et al., 2009); visual website disclosures of CSR (Cho et al., 2009); the rhetorical power of photography in accounting for catastrophes (Matilal and Höpfl, 2009); and visualization mode interactions in annual reporting (Justesen and Mouritsen, 2009).

The significance of visualizations in accounting was also emphasized in previous reviews. Penrose (2008) reviewed the literature on annual report graphs, highlighting how investors heavily rely on graphs to assess a company’s financial position. Beattie and Jones (2008) synthesized 25 articles on graphs in corporate reporting, highlighting how their use reflected a shift in the communicative role of annual corporate reports. These authors also noted a research focus on the impression management framework and called for future articles to consider alternative perspectives. Additionally, Davison’s (2015) review, the first assessment of visual accounting research, synthesized 83 articles published up to 2014, focusing on various visual content excluding graphs. This author identified then-emerging research avenues, including the role of visual media in intellectual capital disclosure and CSR reporting, while emphasizing the latter’s richness in visual imagery. As discussed in the next subsection, the role of visual integration in corporate reporting is twofold, offering both informational benefits and manipulation risks.

Modes of presenting information in corporate reports are crucial because they shape stakeholders’ perceptions of organizational performance and achievements (Rosdini et al., 2020). Visual disclosure provides valuable and engaging data, potentially supporting an organization’s communication with stakeholders and corporate accountability processes (Guthrie et al., 2020). However, visual disclosure embodies a dual nature.

On the one hand, visual media possess strong communicative power, leaving a significant imprint on cognitive memory (Davison, 2015) and providing informative benefits to readers (Stone and Lodhia, 2019). For instance, bar graphs can improve the clarity and comprehension of numerical data in financial statements (Rosdini et al., 2020). Photographs can enhance communication efficacy in nonfinancial statements by easily conveying complex messages, multiple meanings, contexts and moods that numbers and narratives might overlook (Davison, 2007; Abeysekera, 2011). Indeed, some studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of visual integration in facilitating comprehensive and accessible public-sector corporate reporting for citizens. For instance, the integration of infographics – a novel form of graphical representation – has been shown to enable understandable communication of financial information in a survey of local governments across three European countries (Cohen et al., 2022). Photographs have been shown to enhance the appeal and breadth of immediate nonfinancial disclosure in a study of 30 municipalities in the USA (Del Gesso, 2022). Similarly, in the private sector, visuals have been shown to improve the readability and understanding of integrated financial and nonfinancial data, aiding investors’ allocation decisions in a mining company in Indonesia (Widyatama and Narsa, 2023). Likewise, photographs have been shown to enhance sustainability reporting for stakeholders of a dairy export company in New Zealand (Ali et al., 2021).

On the other hand, visuals possess rhetorical and persuasive power, making them susceptible to symbolic use by reporting managers and preparers for impression management purposes. These include accentuating positive information, concealing negative outcomes and shaping a favorable corporate image (Beattie and Jones, 2002; Usmani et al., 2020; Kanbaty et al., 2024). Accordingly, visual integration practices in corporate reporting are often associated with impression management strategies and symbolic legitimacy (Cho et al., 2012a; Momin and Chong, 2023). For instance, integrating pictures into sustainability reports has been found to divert attention from the negative impacts of several energy and mining firms globally (Boiral, 2013), while in annual reports, pictures have been shown to create symbolic CSR in large New Zealand companies (Chong et al., 2019) or to appeal to donors in the US nonprofit sector (Dhanani and Kennedy, 2023). Repetition of pictures in annual reporting serves as a rhetorical strategy to reinforce the firm’s intangible assets (Davison, 2008). Similarly, photographs in sustainability reporting attract readers’ attention and evoke positive emotions that can misleadingly shape perceptions (Kanbaty et al., 2024). Consequently, visual manipulation undermines disclosure reliability and distorts stakeholders’ assessments and judgments, potentially misleading investors and other users (Cooper and Slack, 2015; Zhang and Murthy, 2024). According to Brennan et al. (2010), the public nature of corporate reporting encourages managers to strategically shape desired corporate identity among stakeholders to attain material and social benefits. Among the identified strategies in corporate narratives, visual manipulation or emphasis relies on different presentation techniques, including graphics effects, headings, special fonts, color, bullet points, figures and tables, to emphasize or locate information, foreshadow verbal discussion, or reinforce selected topics (Brennan et al., 2010; Haji and Hossain, 2016).

The visual is viewed skeptically due to its “enigmatic, ambiguous and subjective” nature, and it does indeed resist theory, definitions and quantitative measurements (Davison and Warren, 2009, p. 847). Notably, despite the intertwining of art and accounting as governance tools, a visual theory for decoding and interpreting visual signs in corporate reporting is still lacking, leading to the borrowing of theories from visual semiotics theorists (Davison and Giovannoni, 2023). In an increasingly visual-oriented society, amplified by recent developments in digital technologies, corporate reporting communication is infused with visual media, influencing accounting research and offering multiple interpretative possibilities by embracing interdisciplinary perspectives and theoretical constructs (Davison, 2014; Chong et al., 2023). Digital transformation has intensified visual disclosure, enabling interactive and vivid graphical presentations (Zhang and Murthy, 2024), and the creation of tailored, realistic images through AI, capable of reflecting or distorting reality. These advancements highlight the need for theoretical perspectives that can interpret visual disclosure while accounting for the evolving impact of digital transformation on stakeholder engagement and corporate reporting strategies. Media richness theory provides a valuable lens, since it categorizes communication means based on their capacity for real-time and personalized interactions, making it effective for conveying complex or ambiguous messages (Cho et al., 2009). Stakeholder theory also offers insights into how digital visual media can enrich communication channels and address diverse stakeholder informational needs. Indeed, it provides a framework for interpreting visual disclosure strategies to manage stakeholder relationships (Nicolò et al., 2022).

This study employs longitudinal coword analysis to explore the conceptual structure evolution of visual disclosure studies in corporate reporting. Coword analysis, a bibliometric technique introduced by Callon et al. (1983, 1991), is an analytical and objective approach for capturing the conceptual content of a research field and tracking its thematic evolution. It identifies “poles of interests and their relationships” by examining word associations in scientific documents, with words taken as macro-terms, signal words and connectors linking different contexts (Callon et al., 1983, p. 209). The methodological foundation of coword analysis is that the co-occurrence of keywords describes the contents of documents in a file (or subfile) (Callon et al., 1991). In other words, when keywords frequently occur together across a set (or subset) of articles, the concepts behind keywords are closely related. Coword analysis thus maps relationships between articles, constructing the conceptual structure of a domain (Zupic and Čater, 2015). This approach results in a network of themes and their relations, and generating thematic network maps for different time intervals facilitates tracking changes in the conceptual structure. Therefore, using coword analysis in a longitudinal framework is suitable for representing the conceptual evolution of a research field (Cobo et al., 2011).

The search term selection for including relevant studies on visual disclosure in this coword analysis began with terms closely tied to the subject, namely “visual disclosure” and “visual communication.” Additional terms were incorporated while reading relevant articles. The final search query combined these terms using Boolean operators (“visual disclosure*” OR “visual communication” OR “visual*” OR “graphs” OR “photographs” OR “imagery” OR “pictures” OR “images” OR “graphical” OR “figures” OR “charts” OR “diagrams” OR “infographics” AND “reporting” OR “accounting”). The database selection considered prior coword analysis-based studies, commonly relying on Scopus and/or WoS (e.g. Cho, 2014; Castriotta et al., 2019; Muñoz-Leiva et al., 2021). Given Scopus’s coverage of journals not indexed in WoS, to include articles from these journals, the initial search used Scopus, later supplemented by WoS (Muñoz-Leiva et al., 2021). The query was entered into Scopus on April 14, 2024, excluding 2024 as publication data was still in progress. It focused on records up to 2023, resulting in 68,613 records. These were filtered based on three screening criteria: limited to the English language, document type (articles and reviews), and subject area in business, management, and accounting. Following this screening, 2,402 articles were assessed for inclusion by reviewing titles/abstracts and, in some cases, the entire document. This eligibility step, leading to the collection of 122 articles, was conducted within the Scopus database by creating a saved list. Excluded works covered unrelated topics like data analytics, visualization, and visual communications beyond the scope of corporate reporting/accounting. Many papers also used picture and image as general terms. Additionally, unrelated topics in accounting education using visual aids for more effective teaching were excluded. Marketing-related subjects were also disregarded, including visuals in brand communication, product promotion and advertising, visual social media platforms, and persuasive communication in social media marketing.

The backward and forward snowballing sampling technique was then employed to compile a comprehensive bibliographic data set, thus expanding the initial list. This strategy involves screening reference lists (backward snowballing) and citations (forward snowballing) of collected articles (Wohlin, 2014). Integrating database search with snowballing is suitable for precisely identifying additional relevant articles not visible in the database or captured by search terms (Blanco-Zaitegi et al., 2022). Consequently, the articles citing each of the 122 previously collected articles were assessed for inclusion directly in the saved list on Scopus, and the references of these 122 articles were also examined. Several older articles (e.g. Korol, 1986) identified in the references but whose bibliographic data were unavailable on Scopus were excluded. This process identified 85 relevant articles manually added to the list, bringing the total to 207. Finally, a search in the WoS core collection, applying the same screening criteria as Scopus, assessed 855 records for eligibility. Only three additional relevant articles were found, which did not overlap with those already included in the list. Due to their limited number, these three articles were manually added to the saved list in Scopus, eliminating the need for merging databases. The final list, comprising 210 articles published between 1989 and 2023, was exported as a CSV file, and the full texts of these articles were also collected. A summary of the data collection process is shown in Figure 1.

Descriptive statistics were conducted, followed by a longitudinal coword analysis across three consecutive subperiods: 1989–2009, 2010–2016, and 2017–2023. These periods were identified to achieve data subsets of comparable size, with the first being the longest, as is normal in longitudinal coword analyses (Muñoz-Leiva et al., 2021). This is due to the greater concentration of articles sampled in recent years compared to earlier years (see Figure 3). Thus, based on previous coword analysis studies, the first subperiod, spanning 21 years, was chosen to ensure a sufficient number of published articles for analysis, while the subsequent periods were divided into two seven-year intervals to maintain homogeneity in temporal comparisons (Cobo et al., 2011; Muñoz-Leiva et al., 2021). As a result, the bibliographic database was split into three data sets, comprising 59, 60, and 91 articles for the three periods, respectively. To ensure accurate analysis, keywords were standardized by unifying singular and plural forms and synonyms, removing hyphens, and avoiding abbreviations, following the rules suggested by Choi et al. (2011). For example, “communication” and “communications” were standardized as “communication,” “voluntary disclosure” and “voluntary disclosures” as “voluntary disclosure,” “annual report” and “annual reports” as “annual reports,” and “photograph” and “photographs” as “photographs.” Synonymous terms such as “corporate reports” and “company reports” were standardized as “corporate reports;” “corporate annual reports” was replaced by “annual reports” and “corporate sustainability reporting” by “sustainability reporting.” Hyphens were removed, as in the term “nonfinancial” next to disclosure, information, and reporting. Abbreviations were expanded to their full forms when present in both the original and acronym forms. For example, “CSR” was standardized as “corporate social responsibility,” whereas it remained unchanged when combined with other terms like “CSR reporting” and “CSR communication.” At the end of standardization, the database contained 630 keywords.

To analyze and visualize thematic evolution longitudinally, thematic maps – also referred to as strategic diagrams (Cobo et al., 2011) – were generated for each of the three subperiods using Bibliometrix R-package and elaborating on author keywords. Thematic maps (or strategic diagrams) represent clusters of themes in a bidimensional diagram reflecting a strategic matrix based on two network measures: centrality and density (Aria et al., 2020). Centrality, represented on the horizontal axis of each map, measures the intensity of links of (a cluster of) themes with other (clusters of) themes, indicating the theme’s importance across the set of articles in the period. Density, represented in the vertical axis, measures the degrees of cohesiveness between themes within a cluster, signifying the theme’s development (Callon et al., 1991). The Louvain algorithm was used for theme clustering, setting the cutoff points in 2009 and 2016. A longitudinal co-occurrence network analysis was performed using VOSviewer (ver. 1.6.18) to analyze and visualize thematic networks, elaborating on both authors and indexing keywords. This software utilizes a weighted multidimensional scaling mapping algorithm, placing nodes (i.e. keywords) in a bidimensional diagram at distances reflecting their similarity (Van Eck and Waltman, 2010). This indicates that the closer and more central the keywords are in the diagram, the more concepts are associated and of interest for their study. In contrast, the more distant the keywords are, the more concepts are dissociated and overlooked (Castriotta et al., 2019). Co-occurrence networks between keywords were analyzed through network and overlay visualization maps, with the latter used for identifying thematic trajectories over time and emerging trends (Castriotta et al., 2019). A minimum threshold of 2 occurrences was set for the first two periods and increased to 3 for the third. The keyword co-occurrence network analysis was complemented by a full-text review of articles from each period, both for further interpretation of the results and to detect the underlying theories. The overall data analysis process is summarized in Figure 2.

This subsection answers RQ1, addressing what the key research performances are, such as publication trends, influential articles and the most contributing journals, authors, and countries. Findings from descriptive statistics are presented to outline these performances of visual disclosure research components based on bibliometric indicators.

Figure 3 shows the annual trend of the 210 published articles on visual disclosure over more than three decades (1989–2023). The polynomial trend line indicates fluctuating growth in scientific production. In the first period (1989–2009), 59 articles emerged slowly. The second period (2010–2016) saw slightly more pronounced growth, with 60 articles. The recent period (2017–2023) was the most productive, reaching 91 articles and peaking in 2023. This confirms recent increased scholarly attention (Davison, 2015), likely driven by the growing use of visual content in corporate reporting.

The articles were published across 100 journals, with 16 publishing at least three articles, 13 publishing two and 70 publishing a single article (Table 1;  Appendix 1). Contributors included 353 authors from 32 countries (Figure 4). The top 10 most productive authors and countries are listed in Table 2 and Table 3, respectively. The UK contributed the most with 102 articles, followed by Italy (n = 60), the USA (n = 53), Australia (n = 51) and New Zealand (n = 35).

The top 10 influential articles are listed in Table 4. Boiral’s (2013) study, the most cited, examined 1,258 pictures in sustainability reports from 23 energy and mining companies, highlighting how images construct various simulacra for an idealized representation of the impact of corporate activities. Mouritsen et al. (2001), focusing on intellectual capital reporting, emphasized the role of visualizations in communicating knowledge management strategies, combining and complementing numbers and narratives. Milne et al. (2009) argued that images contribute to a symbolic language in business sustainable development reporting practices. In their review of visual management studies, Bell and Davison (2013) identified the frequent association of visuals with impression management in annual reporting. Preston et al. (1996) explored the significance of photograph usage in US companies’ annual reports, arguing that images are strategic communication tools conveying intended corporate messages, whether right or misleading. Quattrone (2009) underscored the persuasive power of visual representations in communicating messages in accounting and reporting. Warren (2005) discussed visual media usage in qualitative research, noting the photographs’ immediacy and standalone communicative power. Graves et al. (1996) examined the social function of visual formats of annual reports, discussing the rhetorical role of pictures in financial reports. Higgins and Walker (2012) also highlighted the rhetorical role of visuals in sustainability reporting in their study of early social and environmental reports from New Zealand companies. Finally, Bansal and Kistruck (2006) discussed illustrative impression management tactics used to convey a firm’s commitment to the environment, arguing that images can influence stakeholders’ perceptions of firms’ substantive actions.

This subsection answers RQ2, addressing how the conceptual structure of the studies has evolved and what the current orientations are. The coword analysis findings are presented, allowing for a discussion on the longitudinal evolution of studies’ conceptual structure across three periods.

Figure 5 displays word clouds of frequently used author keywords in the 210 collected articles across the three periods (1989–2009, 2010–2016 and 2017–2023). While the word “communication” gradually diminishes in size from the first to the subsequent periods, “impression management” progressively increases, becoming dominant in the second and third periods. The first period’s studies seem to have focused on visual media in annual reports, expanding to sustainability reporting in the second period and integrated reporting in the third. Theme trends over the years can also be inferred from Figure 6, which additionally highlights “visual communication,” “CSR,” “integrated reporting” and “value creation” as themes that are slowly emerging.

Figures 7, 8 and 9 further illustrate the thematic evolution of visual disclosure studies through three thematic maps (or strategic diagrams), respectively. These maps depict each subperiod’s motor, basic, niche and emerging/declining themes. Motor themes, representing the most important and well-developed topics, appear in the upper-right quadrant. In the first period (1989–2009), “financial reporting” was a motor theme, and “visual media” was also becoming, linked with “photographs” and “narratives” (Figure 7). During the second period (2010–2016), “sustainability reporting,” linked with “corporate social reporting” and “GRI,” was a motor theme, as was “annual reports,” which gained development and became a motor theme, associated with “intellectual capital” and “narratives” (Figure 8). Persisting as a motor theme in the third period (2017–2023), “annual reports” linked itself with “communication” and “diagrams,” while “photographs,” established its motor theme status in the cluster led by “impression management” (Figure 9). Basic themes, situated in the lower-right quadrant, are promising but underdeveloped, like “annual reports,” which, initially linked with “graphs” and “financial graphs,” evolved into a motor theme in the second and third periods. “Impression management,” still a basic theme in the second period linked with “voluntary disclosure” and “reporting,” also evolved into a motor theme in the third. Interestingly, “integrated reporting,” linked with “sustainability” and “value creation,” represents a currently basic theme that could potentially transition into a motor theme if developed in future research (Figure 9). Niche themes in the upper-left quadrant indicate developed yet specialized themes, the so-called ivory towers, that may undergo further developments. For example, “photographs,” a niche theme linked to “gender” and “visual communication” in the second period, evolved into the motor theme cluster led by “impression management” in the third. Emerging/declining themes in the lower-left quadrant represent peripheral and underdeveloped themes that may transition into emerging themes if they gain centrality and development. An example is “corporate social responsibility,” an emerging theme up to 2016, that evolved into a motor theme associated with “rhetoric” and “legitimacy” in the third, recent period.

These results suggest that articles addressing visual disclosure in corporate reporting increasingly explored impression management after 2009, coinciding with the expanded voluntary disclosure of sustainability and social responsibility issues. Recent studies have predominantly focused on this phenomenon, aligning with the growing importance of integrated sustainability reporting. The subsequent analysis delves further into the temporal evolution of the studies.

The network visualization map in Figure 10 depicts keywords co-occurrence in 59 articles from the first subperiod, revealing relationships between concepts. Three interconnected clusters outline the main thematic foci of visual disclosure research up to 2009: communication (highlighted in red), visual media (highlighted in green), and annual reports (highlighted in blue). These clusters include frequently occurring keywords, with node size reflecting keyword occurrences and line thickness indicating link relevance and strength. The first cluster focuses on “communication,” linked to “financial reporting,” “financial graphs” and “annual reports” (leading the third cluster), closely connected with “graphs.” “Impression management” is also part of the first cluster. The overlay visualization map in Figure 11 reproduces the co-occurrence network. It shows how “impression management” (in light orange) is connected to “financial reporting,” “financial graphs,” “annual reports” and “graphs,” spreading together in studies before 2005. The second cluster emphasizes “visual media,” including “photographs,” and “disclosure” linked to “corporate social responsibility” and “sustainable development.” The peripheral position of CSR and sustainable development terms in the network indicates that they were marginal themes in the first period. All keywords within the visual media cluster and their connections are highlighted in red on the overlaid visualization map, indicating their scattering toward the end of the first period.

Initially, early studies addressed concepts in the communication cluster, particularly focusing on financial graphs’ use in annual reports to disclose financial information to external stakeholders (e.g. Beattie and Jones, 1992, 1994;, 1997, 2000, 2002; Courtis, 1997). More generally, initial studies addressed graphical and pictorial communication and visual esthetic presentation formats of annual reports, which gradually emerged as significant corporate promotion tools (e.g. Anderson and Imperia, 1992; Graves et al., 1996; McKinstry, 1996; Preston et al., 1996; Davison, 2007). Some studies began exploring potential distortions in the corporate communication process through opportunistic visual material usage – such as for impactful financial disclosure of numerical information – and advocated guidelines for annual report preparers (e.g. Courtis, 1997). Beattie and Jones (1992, 1994;, 2000, 2002) observed that companies with favorable performance generally used financial graphs. Conversely, those with unfavorable performance tended to exclude or alter them, managing impressions created in investors’ perceptions. Overall, the first period’s discourses on impression management with visuals mainly centered on graphic misrepresentation in annual reporting practices (Penrose, 2008).

As shown in Figure 11, the annual reports cluster autonomously emerged – closely intertwined with the other two clusters – following the increased use of graphs, photographs and visual content, along with narrative disclosures to accompany financial reporting within annual reports (e.g. Preston and Young, 2000; David, 2001; Bernardi et al., 2002; Courtis, 2004; Campbell et al., 2009). Studies in the visual media cluster also began to discuss photographs and visual images as rhetorical tools to emphasize intangible values like corporate image and reputation, supplementing numerical and narrative disclosures (e.g. Mouritsen et al., 2001; Davison, 2008, 2009; Davison and Warren, 2009; Justesen and Mouritsen, 2009; Matilal and Höpfl, 2009). Some studies also introduced photographs and images into discussions on voluntary CSR/sustainability disclosure (Caron and Turcotte, 2009; Cho et al., 2009; Milne et al., 2009).

The network visualization map in Figure 12 depicts keywords co-occurrence in 60 articles from the second subperiod. It unveils three interconnected thematic clusters: impression management (in red), intellectual capital (in green) and annual reports (in blue). “Impression management” emerges as the new main thematic strand, strongly linked to “voluntary disclosure” (in the second cluster led by “intellectual capital”) and “annual reports” (leading the third). Figure 13 indicates that this link was scattered around 2012–2013. Additionally, during these years, a close connection between “impression management” and “sustainability reporting,” as well as “sustainability,” became evident. The previous communication and visual media clusters merged into the new intellectual capital cluster, thus confirming itself as an emerging research avenue (Davison, 2015). The annual reports cluster persisted, shifting its focus toward “photographs.”

Studies shaping the impression management cluster examined visual material usage in corporate reports, especially within sustainability reports. From 2010 to 2016, the investigation of impression management via graph usage extended to nonfinancial social and environmental disclosure in voluntary stand-alone reports. These reports were increasingly produced in addition to annual financial reporting (Jones, 2011). For example, Cho et al. (2012a) explored graph usage in 120 large firms’ sustainability reports from six countries, revealing evidence of emphasizing positive/obfuscating negative performance and advocating better GRI guidelines. Cho et al. (2012b) also studied graphs in sustainability reports of 77 US companies, finding evidence of impression management attempts for legitimacy purposes. Other authors demonstrated that photographs served as rhetorical persuasion tools in sustainability reports, reflecting a CSR approach aimed at shaping the company’s image and legitimacy (Rämö, 2011; Higgins and Walker, 2012; Hrasky, 2012; Boiral, 2013; Pesci et al., 2015). Breitbarth et al. (2010) argued that images enable companies to manipulate the meaning of narrative CSR/sustainability messages. Toward the end of the second period, Haji and Hossain’s (2016) preliminary study found pervasive use of illustrations in South African-mandated integrated reporting practices for rhetorical manipulation and visual emphasis.

The intellectual capital cluster of studies proved visual media’s significant role in intellectual capital reporting. For instance, Steenkamp and Hooks (2011) demonstrated that New Zealand firms often disclosed intellectual capital resources like brands and employees through pictures in annual reports. Abhayawansa and Azim (2014) documented significant visual disclosure of intellectual capital in Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies’ annual reports, especially regarding employees, corporate image, reputation and relationships. Other authors argued that visual rhetoric contributes to intellectual capital communication (Davison, 2014), and integrating narrative, numerical and visual information is suitable to explain the corporate value creation process, thereby creating the platform for company valuation (Abhayawansa and Guthrie, 2016). Visual disclosure, interacting with numerical and narrative disclosure strategies to investors, influences the volume and quality of intellectual capital reporting (e.g. Abeysekera, 2011; Steenkamp and Hooks, 2011).

During the second period, the annual reports cluster continued to examine discretionary additions of visual content within these reports, focusing on decoding photographs’ social meanings (e.g. Kamla and Roberts, 2010; Kuasirikun, 2011). Such decoding provides important context to contemporary financial reports, impacting their audience’s reception and interpretation (e.g. Davison, 2010, 2011;, 2015). For instance, Grove Ditlevsen (2012) demonstrated that visuals are used strategically in annual reports to build a corporate identity appealing to investors. Cooper and Slack (2015) also provided evidence of presentational formats aligned with impression management behavior, with visual effects via graphs and photographs representing an important part of voluntary disclosure in annual reports.

The network and overlay visualization maps (Figures 14 and 15) provide insights into the current orientations in visual disclosure research, visualizing interconnections among concepts in 91 articles from the third subperiod and their evolutionary trends. Three major thematic clusters define the conceptual structure of recent studies: integrated reporting (in red), impression management (in green) and corporate social responsibility (in blue). Notably, impression management remains the prevalent cluster, gaining a central position in the network after 2020, which reflects a dominant interest among scholars. Corporate social responsibility moved from a marginal topic to an autonomous, small thematic cluster that replaced the previous annual reports cluster. The intellectual capital cluster dissolved, with some topics (e.g. “communication” and “voluntary disclosure”) merging into the new integrated reporting cluster.

The emerging integrated reporting cluster highlighted some benefits of incorporating visuals in contemporary corporate reporting. Combining narratives and visual communication was deemed an effective strategy for disclosing intangible resources (Abeysekera, 2019) and social and environmental-related risks (Guthrie et al., 2020). Photographs were acknowledged for reinforcing ethical messages in sustainability reporting for reputation-building and value creation (Ali et al., 2021). Visuals, especially diagrams, can enhance integrated reporting practices by representing an organization’s business model and identity (Havemo, 2018a) being an immediate means of balancing stakeholder interests (Nicolò et al., 2022). Busco et al. (2023) also argued that visuals assist managers in unfolding sustainable value creation in integrated reporting. Visual information, including infographics, improves the readability and understandability of financial (Cohen et al., 2022) and nonfinancial sustainability disclosures, influencing perceived reporting quality and accountability level (Malola and Maroun, 2019). Complementing numbers and text with visual content helps companies meet investors’ growing demand for holistic and easily understandable performance reporting (Stone and Lodhia, 2019; Ruggiero and Bachiller, 2023; Widyatama and Narsa, 2023).

The impression management cluster has developed further recently. Research persisted in exploring visual impression management through diverse visual media in corporate reporting documents, both traditional like graphs (e.g. Gosselin and Callimaci, 2023) and modern like infographics (e.g. Kanbaty et al., 2020). Studies within this stream concentrated on visual manipulation, persuasion, and rhetoric practices via photographs usage in either annual reports (e.g. Chong et al., 2019; Ang et al., 2020) or stand-alone CSR/sustainability reports (e.g. Usmani et al., 2020; Zeng et al., 2022; Chong et al., 2023). These studies highlighted the ability of images to capture stakeholders’ attention and convey emotions (Ang et al., 2020); shape perception and engagement (García‐Sánchez and Araújo‐Bernardo, 2020); restore a postdisaster corporate image (Corazza et al., 2020); communicate an impression of workplace diversity (Momin and Chong, 2023); convey a positive sustainability message symbolically (Momin et al., 2023); and increase legitimacy (Dhanani and Kennedy, 2023).

Studies focusing on visuals conveying corporate legitimacy and social responsibility are part of the emerging corporate social responsibility cluster. For instance, Cabrera-Narváez and Quinche-Martín (2021) demonstrated how images in Colombian postconflict companies’ CSR reports portray corporate peace actions for legitimacy. Invernizzi et al. (2022) showed that a moderate number of images conveying CSR messages influence investors’ legitimacy perceptions. Dhanani (2019) observed nongovernmental organizations using visual imagery in annual reports to highlight achievements and construct ethical identities, challenging the reports’ neutral role. Lock and Araujo (2020) noted that environmentally sensitive companies emphasize visual reporting on the social dimension of CSR despite its minor impact compared to the environmental dimension.

This subsection answers RQ3_, addressing how the theoretical perspectives have evolved, and which are currently adopted. The longitudinal evolution of studies’ underlying theories across three periods is discussed.

Figure 16 highlights that a significant portion of articles (32 out of 59, accounting for 54%) in the first period lacks a specific theory. Among the studies that drew upon theoretical perspectives, actor-network theory is the most used, followed by impression management and graphical perception theories. Actor-network theory suggests that society functions through a complex interplay between human and nonhuman actors, mutually influencing one another. For example, inspired by this perspective, Justesen and Mouritsen (2009) examined interactions among different visualizations in annual reports. Caron and Turcotte (2009) explored companies’ adoption of sustainability reporting as an innovation process. Impression management theory, rooted in social psychology, suggests that companies actively control disclosure, presenting symbolic representations of their identities or achievements to shape favorable stakeholder impressions (Bansal and Kistruck, 2006). Consistent with Beattie and Jones (2008), this perspective was primarily used in studies addressing selectivity and distortion bias of financial graphs in annual reports. These authors also grounded some of their graph disclosure studies in graphical perception theory, which focuses on visually interpreting graphs’ information drawing upon statistical graphics studies (e.g. Beattie and Jones, 1997). In the absence of a defined visual theory, some studies turned to critical theory borrowed from art disciplines (Davison, 2009; Davison and Warren, 2009), including critical postmodernist art theory (Preston et al., 1996) and cultural myth theory (David, 2001).

Theories used in the second-period studies are listed in Figure 17, highlighting 38 articles out of 60 (63%) that do not rely on any specific theoretical framework. While the use of impression management theory persists (e.g. Haji and Hossain, 2016), a notable change is observed. Unlike the previous period, legitimacy and stakeholder theories, traditionally applied in sustainability reporting studies, weakly emerge (e.g. Cho et al., 2012b; Boiral, 2013; Abhayawansa and Azim, 2014). Some studies also drew upon multiple combined theories (e.g. Abhayawansa and Azim, 2014).

Figure 18 highlights an increased reliance on theories in recent studies, with 33 out of 91 articles (36%) not relying on any specific perspective. Integrated theoretical frameworks have seen growing adoption (e.g. Abeysekera, 2019; Guthrie et al., 2020). Impression management emerges as one of the most frequently used perspectives, either alone (e.g. Chong et al., 2019) or combined with other theories (e.g. Momin et al., 2023). Similarly, legitimacy theory stands out due to increased research on visual disclosure in sustainability reporting and CSR issues (e.g. Cabrera-Narváez and Quinche-Martín, 2021). Ali et al. (2021) suggested the suitability of legitimacy theory for exploring how organizations use visuals to seek legitimacy in their value-creation strategies. Visual representations play a significant role in legitimacy, reflecting and being influenced by their cultural context of origin’s moral values and esthetic preferences (Puyou and Quattrone, 2018). Studies from 2017 to 2023 often combined legitimacy theory with the impression management perspective, such as to explore visual image usage in corporate reports for symbolic organizational legitimacy (e.g. Corazza et al., 2020; Dhanani and Kennedy, 2023; Momin and Chong, 2023). Reliance on other theories, like stakeholder theory (e.g. Nicolò et al., 2022), remains sporadic amid multiple minor and isolated theories.

This study holds theoretical implications. As the first to trace the evolutionary path of visual disclosure research in corporate reporting – both in its thematic and theoretical focus – it contributes to this research by highlighting how distinctive themes emerged and progressed over time, how theoretical perspectives evolved, and where current orientations and knowledge gaps lie. The findings can guide future studies in identifying gaps and cues for thematic and theoretical advancements, revealing significant scope for these advancements in a future study agenda. The thematic trajectories illustrated an evolving research focus reflecting the rise of holistic corporate performance reporting over time, paralleled by visuals increasingly blending narratives and numbers (see also  Appendix 2). Up to 2009, studies focused on visual disclosure within annual reports, progressing from graphs to additional visuals as voluntary narrative disclosure increased. Between 2010 and 2016, research extended to stand-alone sustainability reports, emphasizing investigations into companies’ impression management in tandem with the rise of such reports and the growing relevance of nonfinancial sustainability disclosure and intellectual capital to corporate reputation and legitimacy. This result aligns with Davison (2015). Furthermore, the findings add that subsequent and more recent studies (2017–2023) continued to focus heavily on impression management and that contemporary research also encompasses an emerging focus on visuals in integrated reporting. A few recent articles – arguably representing a nascent study stream – advocated for the potential of visuals in communicating the sustainable value-creation process beyond rhetoric and impression management (Ali et al., 2021; Nicolò et al., 2022; Busco et al., 2023; Widyatama and Narsa, 2023). Indeed, visual disclosure can be substantive rather than symbolic but studies examining its substantive practice constitute a narrow and still embryonic niche. Consistent with the thematic evolution, the longitudinal development of theoretical frameworks highlighted how articles increasingly embraced impression management theory and, more recently, also legitimacy theory, while reliance on other theories, including stakeholder theory, remains limited. This theoretical gap warrants attention, especially in light of sustainability and digital transitions, which underscore the corporate need to integrate and disclose ESG performance as emerging, structured sustainability pillars. Emerging technologies, such as AI, can potentially enhance ESG performance and the visual disclosure of such performance. However, this study identified a lack of research addressing digital visual content in corporate reporting. Moreover, research explicitly focused on integrated ESG disclosure through visual content is also lacking. Specifically, while there is no shortage of studies exploring similar CSR/sustainability disclosures, corporate governance mechanisms, features, and roles in visual disclosure strategies remain unexplored.

This study also holds practical implications. It emphasizes the imperative for practitioners, managers, and report preparers to recognize the pivotal role of visual disclosure in corporate reporting. Insights provided herein could inform visual disclosure practices, by giving management a better understanding and awareness of its role in enhancing or detracting from the effectiveness, transparency, and accessibility of corporate reporting. This study also resonates with reviewed studies (e.g. Usmani et al., 2020; Busco et al., 2023), highlighting the need for standard-setting bodies and regulators to address visual disclosure through regulatory policies. Defining global guidelines for using visuals in corporate reporting, especially to convey nonfinancial sustainability information, is crucial to mitigate impression management practices and ensure reporting reliability. Such guidelines should address concerns about symbolic versus substantive visual disclosure.

Despite recent increased academic attention, many areas remain unexplored or underexplored in visual disclosure research, echoing previous calls for exploration (e.g. Davison, 2015) and setting an agenda for future research. Future studies should investigate good or substantive visual disclosure practices to demonstrate their effectiveness in mapping corporate value-creation strategies and processes in integrated reporting. This would enable a better interpretation of communication strategies underlying corporate governance choices in addressing stakeholders’ informational demands across financial and nonfinancial reporting. Furthermore, research should delve into the role of visual disclosure in integrating ESG information, with particular attention to the governance pillar. For example, scholars could use visual content analysis or visual thematic analysis to address how information concerning corporate governance and its value-creation involvement (e.g. board responsibilities, inclusiveness, ethical compliance, risk management mechanisms) is visually disclosed. They could also assess whether mandatory ESG disclosure and/or ESG ratings influence visual disclosure practices, analyzing their impact on the quantity and quality of visual content, for example, by employing mixed-method approaches combining quantitative analysis of visual disclosure scores and qualitative case studies. Moreover, research could explore whether visuals (especially diagrams and value maps, including interactive versions) facilitate ESG and value-creation communication to stakeholders, such as through sentiment analysis or eye-tracking studies. Future research should also consider corporate governance characteristics, factors, and roles affecting ESG visual disclosure in integrated reporting, including through digital visual content while assessing associated risks and opportunities. Variables such as board composition, diversity, size, and tenure could be analyzed to understand their relationship with visual disclosure strategies and their influence on the quality and extent of ESG-related visual communication. Additionally, research should investigate how digital technologies may reshape visual disclosure practices in corporate reporting. This includes examining the risks and opportunities associated with reliance on AI and automated systems for visual disclosure. Experimental designs or scenario analysis could be useful in understanding stakeholder reactions to AI-generated visuals and identifying potential biases or unintended consequences. Furthermore, aligning with Beattie and Jones (2008), prospective studies should adopt diverse theoretical perspectives beyond established impression management and legitimacy theories. These may include stakeholder theory, agency theory, institutional theory, signaling theory, upper echelons theory, and stakeholder saliency theory. Navigating the complexities of visual disclosure in the digital age also requires adopting suitable theoretical frameworks capable of balancing its informational benefits against its potential for manipulation. Media richness theory and stakeholder theory, among other perspectives, could offer valuable insights into how digital platforms enhance or constrain visual disclosure practices (e.g. through interactive dashboards or AI-generated visuals) to engage stakeholders better. Digital transformation opens avenues for future research to integrate innovative insights from information systems research. For example, affordance theory, which explores the relational properties between digital tools and their users, might provide a deeper understanding of how technology shapes visual disclosure practices. Similarly, emerging socio-technical perspectives, such as sociomateriality theory, may help analyze the dynamic relationship between technology, visual reporting practices, and stakeholders, emphasizing how human agency and digital tools coconstruct meaning in visual disclosure. Finally, research should examine how visual disclosure can enhance value-creation reporting, especially in public and nonprofit sectors, including through emerging digital technologies like AI.

This study has certain limitations. First, the analysis focused exclusively on English-language articles indexed in Scopus and WoS, excluding unavailable articles in these databases, and books, chapters, conference papers, and all grey literature. This exclusion may have limited the scope of findings. Despite employing the snowballing technique, it remains possible that the article collection strategy overlooked some relevant articles. Second, the study acknowledges the inherent limitations of coword analysis, which relies on articles’ keywords. Despite efforts to mitigate this limitation by reviewing article texts, certain their contextual nuances might not have been fully captured.

This study sought to trace visual disclosure studies’ thematic and theoretical evolution in corporate reporting from 1989 to 2023 through a longitudinal coword analysis supplemented by a review of articles. As found, impression management has become an increasingly predominant central theme in visual disclosure research. This reflects a critical and often skeptical stance toward visual communication in corporate reporting, even though studies did not always find impression management evidence (e.g. Gosselin and Callimaci, 2023). The developmental trajectory of this theme aligns with the development of narrative disclosure as a key tool for communicating nonfinancial performance dimensions. The predominance of the impression management theme could arguably be explained by the fact that scholars’ interest in nonfinancial disclosure is traditionally anchored in the narrative mode (Ruggiero and Bachiller, 2023), where impression management investigation is well established (e.g. Brennan et al., 2010). Indeed, in accounting, narrative is the closest field to the visual, often intertwined (Davison, 2015).

At the same time, integrated reporting is emerging as a key focal point in contemporary visual disclosure research, with clear room for further evidence-based research exploring the positive potential of such disclosure. Overall, using visuals in corporate reporting to complement communication and enhance the accessibility of disclosures, simplifying complex information for stakeholders’ decision-making processes, represents an important and topical area deserving of future scholarly attention. This focus becomes even more crucial in light of increasingly mandatory integrated reporting practices and the embedded sustainability disclosure, which emphasizes structured ESG dimensions of the value-creation process and the strategic role of corporate governance in guiding and overseeing this process. Investors and stakeholders increasingly rely on ESG scores for their evaluations, underscoring the need to study ESG visual disclosure from perspectives such as stakeholder theory and other suitable theoretical frameworks. The rapid advancements in emerging digital technologies, such as AI, add another layer of complexity and opportunity. These technologies can enhance visual disclosure and potentially offer opportunities for companies to effectively communicate their substantive ESG performance while posing risks for increasing symbolic practices. The interplay between visual disclosure, ESG imperatives, and digital innovations offers fertile ground for future research, tasked with understanding transformative visual disclosure practices in contemporary corporate reporting while navigating its fine line between transparency and manipulation.

This article was published Open Access under the transformative agreements adhered to by the University of Milan.

Table A1 

Table A2