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strategies” (Hyland, 1998, p.224). Thus, to further investigate the discursive strategies and interpersonal functions realized by specific linguistic resources in the Letters to Shareholders, scholars have studied this genre from various linguistic perspectives. 

Concerning the genre features and communicative functions of the Letters to Shareholders, most studies focus on metadiscourse. Metadiscourse allows CEOs to control information and direct readers on how they should understand and appraise the subject matter to realize rational, credible, and affective appeals (Hyland, 1998). Some scholars consider cultural factors and conduct a comparative study in various cultures. For instance, Hu and Li (2018) systematically examine and compare the metadiscourse resources in the Letters to Shareholders of Tencent and Amazon respectively. It is found that Tencent inclines to use formative expressions to build an authoritative, confident and cautious personality while Amazon project more on its ethos. 

2.2  Previous studies on corporate identity

In this section, the definitions of corporate identity by different scholars are reviewed and the definition applied in this study is noted. At the same time, precious studies on corporate identity are reviewed in the second part of this section.

2.2.1 Definition of corporate identity

From the perspective of Constructivism, the construction of identity is regarded as a dynamic process, in which individuals can construct one or more identities by choosing the language in the process of discourse. Corporate identity, drawing a great deal on social identity theory, has been approached from various perspectives consisting of organization studies, marketing, and interdisciplinary perspectives (Simões & Dibb, 2002; Bloch, 2014, pp.108-112). It is considered as a central corporate-level construct in corporate marketing (Balmer, 2017; Balmer et al., 2016; Balmer & Greyser, 2006; He & Balmer, 2007) and strategic management domains (Balmer, 2017). 

Though there is still no a precise and unified definition of corporate identity and its relationship to culture, image as well as reputation, studies on corporate identity can be dated back to 1957 when the term went popular among American and British consultants (Balmer, 2001; Rindova & Schultz, 1998, p.47). It was not until 1985 that the concept of identity was first articulated on the organizational level by Albert and Whetten (1985). Their description of “organizational identity” includes three core components, among which the ideational component is underlined with the question “who are we as an organization”, which is also the most key question to be addressed (Whetten, 2006, p.220). In this respect, they believe that “organizational identity” is the “core, lasting, and unique characteristics” of an organization that its members consider (Bhatia & Allori, 2011). However, differences exist between organizational identity and corporate identity. The former is developed to refer to the system of beliefs and values underlying the behavior of an organization (Dutton et al., 1994), while the latter is originally and essentially defined as the image the organization tries to project to its stakeholders [internal and external] and the way it presents itself to these target groups (Bloch, 2014, p.112).

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