Abstract
The study aims to examine the impression management (IM) of the luxury fashion industry through communications using annual reports and the influence of board gender diversity (BGD). Using a computational approach with Python and Natural Language Processing on sustainability practices and performance of 19 luxury fashion companies from Top 100 global luxury brands over the period 2020 to 2022, it evaluates sustainability dimensions and the BGD's influence on IM practices. The findings reveal a notable increase in IM disclosure over the years and highlight a positive association between IM and sustainability disclosures, illustrating the use of disclosure language strategically to enhance corporate sustainability and reputation. They uncover that the boards with a higher proportion of female directors are positively associated with IM practices. This study contributes to the understanding of IM strategies in sustainability disclosure within the luxury fashion industry and underlines the crucial role of female directors in fostering ethics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Business Strategy and the Environment |
| Early online date | 6 Oct 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 6 Oct 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Keywords
- ESG reporting
- board gender diversity
- impression management
- luxury fashion industry
- strategic sustainability communication
- sustainability disclosure