Managing a story of hope through the President’s Letter: The case of Petrobras from 1964 to 1985

Abstract

This research investigates the historical role of the president's letter, and in particular how impression management was used by the Brazilian company Petrobras, during the military dictatorship (1964–1985), to build up and legitimise the company and the regime. Following an interpretative approach, and through a framework that includes both impression management tactics and presentational methods, the study analyses both narrative and visual images of the letters. The adoption of assertive impression management tactics helped to propagate Petrobras in the ascendancy and with it the Brazilian nation. Reinforcement, rhetorical manipulation and visual emphasis were adopted to convey a message of ascendancy and optimism, even in periods of crisis and shocks to legitimacy. Simultaneously, the omission tactic allowed it to keep invisible damaging events. As a recurrent, voluntary accounting narrative, the president's letters provided valuable storytelling and impression management opportunities which were used to promote Petrobras and as a legitimate façade for the government.