Legitimacy strategies in the annual reports – what turn to social responsibility in post-privatization context

Abstract

The present paper offers a narrative of the attempts of the privatized Romanian oil-company Petrom to assert its legitimacy in an environment characterized by global insecurity of the energy industry, instability of the political regime in Romania and an intensified all-levels fight with corruption, imposed by the EU integration process. The main interest was therefore to see how the changing environment and the need for legitimacy are affecting the financial communication of the company through the corporate annual reports. The case study is based on the content analysis of three consecutive post-privatization annual reports, explored in close connection with the changes in the social and political context.