Research Article
Forward-mover Versus Nation-builder: Metaphorical Framing of Corporate Self-representation in Top Executive Letters from US Bay Area and China's Greater Bay Area Companies
Dongman Cai*
Issue:
Volume 14, Issue 4, August 2026
Pages:
149-159
Received:
16 June 2026
Accepted:
2 July 2026
Published:
3 July 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.20261404.11
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Abstract: This study investigates how nominal metaphors frame corporate self-representation in top executive letters of sustainability reports from US Bay Area and China's Greater Bay Area Fortune Global 500 companies between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on 85 letters (80,516 tokens) in the Chinese corpus and 117 letters (69,524 tokens) in the US corpus, quantitative analysis identifies thirteen vehicle groupings that differ significantly across the two corpora — with physical power and movement the most strongly overused in the US corpus, and fight/war and building the most strongly overused in the Chinese corpus — while qualitative analysis further reveals self-representational differences beneath the quantitative similarity of mechanism and theatre. The US corpus jointly uses physical power and movement to frame firms as the IMPACT-MAKING FORWARD MOVER, while the Chinese corpus jointly uses fight/war and building to frame firms as the STRATEGIC NATION-BUILDER. mechanism and theatre with similar frequency suggest both similarities and differences in vehicle-topic mappings and self-representation patterns. The findings suggest that metaphorical framing is sensitive to the analytical level at which they are examined, and that examining cross-cultural CEO discourse at the vehicle-topic level complements the conceptual-domain-level analysis predominant in prior research. The study contributes to cross-cultural metaphor research by providing empirical insight into how a preferred corporate self is framed for US versus Chinese stakeholder audiences. It also guides practitioners in using metaphor with sensitivity to the cultural-institutional contexts shaping meaning in cross-cultural sustainability communication.
Abstract: This study investigates how nominal metaphors frame corporate self-representation in top executive letters of sustainability reports from US Bay Area and China's Greater Bay Area Fortune Global 500 companies between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on 85 letters (80,516 tokens) in the Chinese corpus and 117 letters (69,524 tokens) in the US corpus, quantitat...
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