| dc.description.abstract | Impression management involves actions performed by organisations to influence the perceptions of others, and one strategy within this field is attribution. The use of attribution is by assigning positive outcomes to the organisation, whilst negative outcomes to the external environment. This thesis conducts a case study to analyse how Volkswagen used attribution in the aftermath of the company’s emission scandal in the period 2015-2022. We used qualitative content analysis to answer this, constructing two research questions: (1) Volkswagen’s attribution of CSR outcomes in the annual and sustainability reports from 2015 to 2022, and (2) Volkswagen’s evolution of attribution in relation to CSR outcomes in these reports. The research utilised an analytical framework to categorise CSR results into four distinct groups: internal-positive, internal-negative, external-positive, and external-negative attributions. Subsequently, we categorised these attributions into economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic domains by using Carroll's CSR pyramid. In order to address the research inquiries, we analysed a combined total of 14 company documents, consisting of 8 annual reports and 6 sustainability reports. Our findings for the first research question suggest that Volkswagen attributes its CSR outcomes to both internal improvements and shortcomings, as well as external factors such as sustainable practices and market disruptions. We constructed three time periods to answer the second research question: “Initial Phase (2015–2016)”, “Transition Phase (2017–2019)”, and “New Challenges Arise (2020–2022)”. We critically discuss our findings. Finally, we present the thesis's conclusion, its theoretical and practical implications, and its limitations. | |