The Power and Pitfalls of Photographs in Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Experimental Insights on Trust and Environmental Responsibility Perceptions

Abstract

This study employs an experimental approach to examine the impact of photographs in corporate sustainability reporting on readers' trust and environmental responsibility perceptions. Using a 3 × 2 between‐subject design, we manipulated context fit between photographs and report text (high‐ and low‐context photograph and text‐only) and reported performance (target not met and target met). Drawing on data from 313 participants, our somewhat counterintuitive findings suggest that using low‐context photographs, decoupled from the reporting text, largely backfires. Most notably, trust perceptions are lowest in the treatment when reporting on positive performance is supplemented with a low‐context photograph. Furthermore, we observe significant interaction effects between reported performance and choice of photographs. Hereby, we contribute novel experimental evidence to the literature, which has largely focused on discerning photographic messages. Our results have important implications for reporting managers, suggesting that low‐context photographs undermine how their sustainability progress is perceived.