Table 5 We are global and local (Stage... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

We are global and local (Stage 3, 2014–2018)

	Wrappers
	Linguistic devices	Contextual discourses and vocabularies found in the reports	Examples from Mitsubishi corporate reports
Language wrapping	3.1.1 Ritualistic phrases adding spiritual power	3.1.2 Discourse of the new growth strategy, jointly with capital market discourse Vocabularies of capital market oriented global frameworks – IFRS, ESG, IRF. 3.1.3 Sustainability discourse Vocabularies of stakeholder oriented global frameworks – GRI, ISO 26000, UN GC, UN SDGs	3.1.1a “2014 is a milestone year for MC, making 60 years since the launch of the Company in its present form, following the disbanding of the family-owned business conglomerates and the subsequent series of landmark mergers. Our predecessors laid solid foundations by taking these steps. Staying true to their ambitions, we are now seeking to put MC on a bolder and stronger growth path in the years to come”. (AR2014, p. 12) 3.1.1b “…The ancient philosopher Confucius said, ‘at 60, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth’. He meant that at the age of 60, he was able to listen to people’s words without any prejudice or reserve. [Mitsubishi] has also reached this age. (…) We need to listen more attentively than ever to the opinions of various stakeholders. Moreover, guided by the spirit of the Three Corporate Principles, we intend to push ahead with our business while considering the ideal shape of tomorrow’s society, and what we must to do to achieve it. The Three Principles have been passed down the generations since the Company’s founding”. (AR2014, p. 12) 3.1.2a “[ESG] serves as a fundamental aspect of MC´s sustainable growth – pursuing businesses that generate value for society through initiatives to address key sustainability issues” (AR2016, p. 30) 3.1.2b “MC group prides itself in adapting to our ever-evolving world, anticipating and responding to changes in geopolitical, economic and industrial landscapes, the last two of which are being increasingly driven by innovations and technology”. (AR2018, p. 4) 3.1.3a “The MC group aims to deliver sustainable growth by adapting to changes in the business environment and fulfilling societal needs in due consideration of the UN’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this aim, MC shall rely on three core strengths, namely its collective capabilities to adopt a holistic view of industry, its foresight to identify new seeds of growth, and its execution skills to germinate them.” After this statement Mitsubishi presents a figure in which economic, social and environmental values are presented inspired by GRI´s TBL approach. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2018/all.pdf, p. 5) 3.1.3b To explain how economic, societal, and environmental values are created, Mitsubishi presents five types of capital selected from the IR framework: human, network, customer and partner, intellectual and financial. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2018/all.pdf, p. 7)
Social wrapping	3.2.1 Visual presentation of power and articulation of status and legitimacy	3.2.2 CG discourse Vocabulary: CG code, ESG, IR framework	3.2.1 In a visual presentation of corporate governance, there are 13 board directors: 12 men of age between 58–72 years, and one woman of age 53. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2017/all.pdf, pp. 32-33) 3.2.2a “… and as we look to effectively respond to the changes to our external environment, we are also working to strengthen dialogue with our stakeholders, starting by disclosing non-financial information related to the company. This includes our environmental and social initiatives, as well as our corporate governance measures, which form the basis for the soundness, transparency and efficiency of our management”. (AR2016, p. 30) 3.2.2b We observed that in the 2015 Report, international members of the international advisory committee are each presented with a biography. All are men, one of them a distinguished professor from Harvard University. The Committee also has 6 Japanese members, but their names are discreetly listed at the end of the page without a detailed background. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2015/all.pdf, p. 114) 3.2.2c “I have told MC employees on many occasions that I want them to value what I call the Three Cs. First, they should have ‘Curiosity’ about how the world is changing; second rather than avoid change they should embrace it with a sense of ‘Challenge’. The third ‘C’ is ‘Communication’. We intend to groom employees that embody the ‘Three Cs’ to be candidates for management positions. To this, I should also add one more important ‘C’ word, and that is ‘Courtesy’. If our employees are courteous and respectful in their manner, then we should find that more and more parties will be eager to talk or consult with the Company”. (AR2014, p. 35)
Temporal wrapping	3.3.1 Division of time and rhetorical use of history	3.3.2 Nationalistic discourse Vocabulary: presentation of old corporate principles historical eras, using pictures and charts 3.3.3. Discourse of modernity of Japan Vocabulary: Technical language of global reporting frameworks, such as IIRC, GRI, ISO 26000	3.3.1 Titles featuring development 1954–1970: “First overseas mining development”, “Becoming Japan´s first trading company to take part in petroleum wholesales”, “Starting automobile business that dominates the Thailand market”. Titles describing 1980–1990: “Leading toward a qualitative change in the Word´s energy”, “Grown rapidly to become one of the top UK manufacturers”. (AR2014, pp. 7-8) 3.3.2 The corporate history is presented in two periods – “Mitsubishi’s prehistory 1870–1954” and “The history of Mitsubishi Corporation 1954–2014”. The description of the first period contains pictures of Mitsubishi’s first four presidents, presented as heroes due to their contributions to Mitsubishi’s early progress, and their influence on its current corporate culture. The second period is divided by Mitsubishi into five eras: the Era of Strengthening the Foundations (1954–1960), the Era of High Economic Growth (1960–1970), the Era of the Oil Crisis and Low Economic Growth (1970–mid-1980s), the Bubble Economy and Subsequent Years (mid-1980s–1990s) and Opening up a New Era (late 1990s–2014). (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2014/all.pdf, pp. 7-9) 3.3.3 “In the preparation of this report, we have referred to the International Integrated Reporting Framework advocated by the IIRC, GRI and the ISO 26000 Handbook on Social Responsibility”. This statement signed by the president and CEO is accompanied by a visual model featuring the GRI-inspired Environmental, Economic and Social dimensions of corporate value, as well as ESG aspects of the corporate business. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2014/all.pdf, p. 00)

	Wrappers
	Linguistic devices	Contextual discourses and vocabularies found in the reports	Examples from Mitsubishi corporate reports
Language wrapping	3.1.1 Ritualistic phrases adding spiritual power	3.1.2 Discourse of the new growth strategy, jointly with capital market discourseVocabularies of capital market oriented global frameworks – IFRS, ESG, IRF.3.1.3 Sustainability discourseVocabularies of stakeholder oriented global frameworks – GRI, ISO 26000, UN GC, UN SDGs	3.1.1a “2014 is a milestone year for MC, making 60 years since the launch of the Company in its present form, following the disbanding of the family-owned business conglomerates and the subsequent series of landmark mergers. Our predecessors laid solid foundations by taking these steps. Staying true to their ambitions, we are now seeking to put MC on a bolder and stronger growth path in the years to come”. (AR2014, p. 12)3.1.1b “…The ancient philosopher Confucius said, ‘at 60, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth’. He meant that at the age of 60, he was able to listen to people’s words without any prejudice or reserve. [Mitsubishi] has also reached this age. (…) We need to listen more attentively than ever to the opinions of various stakeholders. Moreover, guided by the spirit of the Three Corporate Principles, we intend to push ahead with our business while considering the ideal shape of tomorrow’s society, and what we must to do to achieve it. The Three Principles have been passed down the generations since the Company’s founding”. (AR2014, p. 12)3.1.2a “[ESG] serves as a fundamental aspect of MC´s sustainable growth – pursuing businesses that generate value for society through initiatives to address key sustainability issues” (AR2016, p. 30)3.1.2b “MC group prides itself in adapting to our ever-evolving world, anticipating and responding to changes in geopolitical, economic and industrial landscapes, the last two of which are being increasingly driven by innovations and technology”. (AR2018, p. 4)3.1.3a “The MC group aims to deliver sustainable growth by adapting to changes in the business environment and fulfilling societal needs in due consideration of the UN’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this aim, MC shall rely on three core strengths, namely its collective capabilities to adopt a holistic view of industry, its foresight to identify new seeds of growth, and its execution skills to germinate them.” After this statement Mitsubishi presents a figure in which economic, social and environmental values are presented inspired by GRI´s TBL approach. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2018/all.pdf, p. 5)3.1.3b To explain how economic, societal, and environmental values are created, Mitsubishi presents five types of capital selected from the IR framework: human, network, customer and partner, intellectual and financial. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2018/all.pdf, p. 7)
Social wrapping	3.2.1 Visual presentation of power and articulation of status and legitimacy	3.2.2 CG discourseVocabulary: CG code, ESG, IR framework	3.2.1 In a visual presentation of corporate governance, there are 13 board directors: 12 men of age between 58–72 years, and one woman of age 53. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2017/all.pdf, pp. 32-33)3.2.2a “… and as we look to effectively respond to the changes to our external environment, we are also working to strengthen dialogue with our stakeholders, starting by disclosing non-financial information related to the company. This includes our environmental and social initiatives, as well as our corporate governance measures, which form the basis for the soundness, transparency and efficiency of our management”. (AR2016, p. 30)3.2.2b We observed that in the 2015 Report, international members of the international advisory committee are each presented with a biography. All are men, one of them a distinguished professor from Harvard University. The Committee also has 6 Japanese members, but their names are discreetly listed at the end of the page without a detailed background. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2015/all.pdf, p. 114)3.2.2c “I have told MC employees on many occasions that I want them to value what I call the Three Cs. First, they should have ‘Curiosity’ about how the world is changing; second rather than avoid change they should embrace it with a sense of ‘Challenge’. The third ‘C’ is ‘Communication’. We intend to groom employees that embody the ‘Three Cs’ to be candidates for management positions. To this, I should also add one more important ‘C’ word, and that is ‘Courtesy’. If our employees are courteous and respectful in their manner, then we should find that more and more parties will be eager to talk or consult with the Company”. (AR2014, p. 35)
Temporal wrapping	3.3.1 Division of time and rhetorical use of history	3.3.2 Nationalistic discourseVocabulary: presentation of old corporate principles historical eras, using pictures and charts3.3.3. Discourse of modernity of JapanVocabulary: Technical language of global reporting frameworks, such as IIRC, GRI, ISO 26000	3.3.1 Titles featuring development 1954–1970: “First overseas mining development”, “Becoming Japan´s first trading company to take part in petroleum wholesales”, “Starting automobile business that dominates the Thailand market”. Titles describing 1980–1990: “Leading toward a qualitative change in the Word´s energy”, “Grown rapidly to become one of the top UK manufacturers”. (AR2014, pp. 7-8)3.3.2 The corporate history is presented in two periods – “Mitsubishi’s prehistory 1870–1954” and “The history of Mitsubishi Corporation 1954–2014”. The description of the first period contains pictures of Mitsubishi’s first four presidents, presented as heroes due to their contributions to Mitsubishi’s early progress, and their influence on its current corporate culture. The second period is divided by Mitsubishi into five eras: the Era of Strengthening the Foundations (1954–1960), the Era of High Economic Growth (1960–1970), the Era of the Oil Crisis and Low Economic Growth (1970–mid-1980s), the Bubble Economy and Subsequent Years (mid-1980s–1990s) and Opening up a New Era (late 1990s–2014). (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2014/all.pdf, pp. 7-9)3.3.3 “In the preparation of this report, we have referred to the International Integrated Reporting Framework advocated by the IIRC, GRI and the ISO 26000 Handbook on Social Responsibility”. This statement signed by the president and CEO is accompanied by a visual model featuring the GRI-inspired Environmental, Economic and Social dimensions of corporate value, as well as ESG aspects of the corporate business. (https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/ir/library/ar/pdf/areport/2014/all.pdf, p. 00)

Source(s): Table created by authors