In this research, we examine how the degree of prior corporate misconduct influences the linguistic framing of firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) narratives. Integrating insights from social psychology and linguistics literature, we propose that greater past misconduct leads firms to employ more abstract (less concrete) language in articulating their CSR. Furthermore, we argue that the presence of high past CSR performance weakens the association between past misconduct and the abstractness of sustainability communication.. Using a novel dataset of S&P 500 firms’ CSR disclosures and records of corporate misconduct from 2016 to 2024, we find preliminary evidence supporting our hypotheses. These findings advance our understanding of the strategic manipulation of linguistic attributes by top management for impression management and stakeholder engagement, highlighting the role of language as a tool for navigating reputational risks and managing stakeholder perceptions.
