A comparative analysis on intertextual practices in corporate leaders’ messages from PRC and US

Corporate leader messages posted by senior management play a pivotal role in building relationships with stakeholders in the professional corporate communication context and such messages often explicitly or implicitly draw on prior texts to establish credibility and deliver corporate identity. However, research on the linguistic manifestations of intertextuality in corporate leader messages has been limited. This mixed methods study seeks to analyse how intertextuality is manifested linguistically through the types of intertextual links, sources of reference and move structure in leaders’ messages of Fortune Global 500 corporations in the United States and People’s Republic of China. The findings indicate that intertextuality is a prevalent feature of leader messages with intertextual references made to published corporate information using indirect speech. Striking cross-cultural observations are noted since corporations in the PRC often draw on direct quotes in messages whereas indirect quotes and recognisable industry/business-specific phrasing are preferred by corporations from the US. In addition, intertextuality in leaders’ messages reveals ideological variations in that leaders from corporations in the PRC make explicit intertextual references to texts on government policies and business achievements/recognition. Moreover, how intertextuality as manifested in the messages and move structure is driven by the goals of corporations from different cultures. This interdisciplinary study is the first that contributes to the understanding of intertextual practices in the corporate leader’s message, which is of relevance to scholars and practitioners in corporate communication and public relations.