CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE PRESS RELEASES: LANGUAGE STRATEGIES IN STARBUCKS’ ‘AN IMPORTANT UPDATE’ DURING ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31851/dfrggh30Keywords:
Critical discourse analysis; corporate press release; language strategies; organizational restructuring; corporate image managementAbstract
This study investigates the linguistic and discursive strategies employed in Starbucks’ corporate press release “An Important Update” during a period of organizational restructuring. Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study also incorporates Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics and Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory to examine how language is used to construct meaning, manage stakeholder perceptions, and maintain corporate image. The research adopts a qualitative descriptive approach and analyzes the press release issued by CEO Brian Niccol on September 25, 2025, concerning coffeehouse closures and workforce reductions. The document was purposively selected as the primary corpus and verified through the official Starbucks newsroom and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filing. The analysis was conducted across textual, discursive practice, and social practice dimensions. The findings indicate that the press release functions as a strategic corporate communication tool rather than merely an informational announcement. At the textual level, modality, pronoun choice, passivization, and euphemistic expressions are employed to reduce perceptions of corporate responsibility and preserve the brand’s customer-centered identity. At the level of discursive practice, the text addresses multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously by balancing transparency with reassurance. At the social practice level, the press release reflects broader neoliberal and customer-centric ideologies that frame organizational contraction as a process of renewal and long-term improvement. The dominant image management strategy identified is corrective action, supported by limited expressions of mortification. This study demonstrates how corporate press releases strategically deploy language to shape public interpretation and reinforce institutional legitimacy during organizational change.
References
Anani-Bossman, N. (2025). Crisis communication and public apology strategies in corporate reputation repair and consumer reengagement following public controversies. International Journal of Public Relations Research and Development, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14785291
Aquino, K. C., & BuShell, S. (2020). Device usage and accessible technology needs for post-traditional students in the e-learning environment. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 68(2), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2020.1759313
Bate, J. (2020). Romantic ecology: Wordsworth and the environmental tradition. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203798843
Behnam, B., & Mahmoudy, B. (2013). A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Reports Issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Iran‟s Nuclear Program during the Last Decade. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(12), 2196–2201. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.12.2196-2201
Carpenter, V., & Singh, L. (2023). Critical discourse analysis. In Researching and Analysing Business: Research Methods in Practice. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003107774-17
Chhinzer, N. (2024). Are layoffs an industry norm? Exploring how industry-level job decline or growth impacts firm-level layoff implementation. Human Resource Management Journal, 34(4), 1042–1062. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12543
Damayanti, A. F. (2020). Pengaruh Likuiditas, ukuran perusahaan, dan corporate governance terhadap pengungkapan sustainability report [UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim, Malang]. file:///D:/PROPOSAL/BAB I fix.pdf
Daruhadi, G., & Sopiati, P. (2024). Pengumpulan data penelitian. J-Ceki: Jurnal Cendekia Lmiah, 3(5), 5423–5443. https://doi.org/10.56799/jceki.v3i5.5181
Fairclough, N. (2023). Critical discourse analysis (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Halliday, M. A. . (2019). Language as Social Semiotic. Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. ., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. . (2019). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (4th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203431269
Herdayati, & Syahrial. (2019). Desain penelitian dan teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian. Journal Online International, 53(9), 1689–1699. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/syahrial-syahrial-2/publication/336304206_desain_penelitian_dan_teknik_pengumpulan_data_dalam_penelitian/links/5d9ac0ab92851c2f70f2184f/desain-penelitian-dan-teknik-pengumpulan-data-dalam-penelitian
Ilas, C. (2025). Regret and responsibility: A discourse analysis of CEO apologies in corporate crisis management. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 25(G1), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.34257/GJMBRGVOL25IS1PG1
Kusuma, D., Rusli Tanjung, A., & Darlis, E. (2014). Pengaruh Corporate Governance dan karakteristik Perusahaan terhadap Luas Pengungkapan Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) di dalam Sustainability Report. Jurnal Online Mahasiswa Fakultas Ekonomi, 1(2), 1–16. https://jom.unri.ac.id/index.php/JOMFEKON/article/view/4468
Kusumawardani, A. M. T. (2022). Pengaruh Good Corporate Governance dan Ukura Perusahaan terhadap Pengungkapan Sustainability Report serta Dampaknya terhadap Return Saham. Owner : Riset & Jurnal Akuntansi, 6(4), 3724–3742. https://doi.org/10.33395/owner.v6i4.1129
Li, X. (2022). The discursive construction of corporate identity in the corporate social responsibility reports: A case study of Starbucks. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(940541), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.940541
Lim, J. S., Yang, S.-U., & Park, C. E. (2026). Rhetorical reason-giving through image restoration strategies in corporate responses to DEI pushback: A content analysis of publicly articulated corporate position statements. Public Relations Review, 52(2), 102683. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811126000184
Lin, A. M. Y. (2014). Critical discourse analysis in applied linguistics: A methodological review. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 34, 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000087
Liu, Q., Bilal, & Komal, B. (2022). A corpus-based comparison of the Chief Executive Officer statements in annual reports and corporate social responsibility reports. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(851405), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.851405
Magpantay, N. N., & Yapo, J. (2025). Exploring media relations: Discourse analysis of PR-media conversations in Philippine media events. Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(2), 385–398. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15473103
Mauliddiyah, N. L. (2021). Metode Pengumpulan Data dan Instrumen Penelitian [UIN Alauddin Makassar]. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/svu73
Miles, M. ., & Huberman, A. . (2019). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Mulyaningsih, I., Jan-kaew, T., Ekawati, T., Nurpadillah, V., & Rahman, M. A. (2026). Constructing Cultural Identity In BIPA Pedagogy: A Critical Discourse Analysis of AR-Enhanced Learning Materials Based on Cirebon Heritage. Jurnal Gramatika, 12(1), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.22202/jg.v12i1.10607
Nursita, R. D. (2023). Critical discourse analysis on Islam Nusantara in Indonesia’s foreign policy. Hasanuddin Journal of International Affairs, 3(1), 44–54. https://doi.org/10.31947/hjirs.v3i1.25611
Niccol, B. (2025, September 25). An important update. Starbucks Corporation. https://about.starbucks.com/press/2025/message-from-brian-an-important-update/
Romadhan, M. I., Pariyanto, & Suwandha, R. A. (2025). Critical discourse analysis of Pertamina’s press release “Supported by the Attorney General’s Office, Pertamina ensures Pertamax meets specifications.” JSRET Journal of Scientific, Research, Education, and Technology, 4(2), 757–782. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.58526/jsret.v4i2.741
Ruan, W.-Q., Huang, H., Li, Y.-Q., Wang, M.-Y., & Zhou, Y. (2025). How to repair destination image after internal crises? The apology strategies under different information disclosure scenarios. Journal of Vacation Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667251332305
Sutikno, S., Judijanto, L., Purba, R., Fatmawati, E., Risnawaty, R., Ningrum, D. W., & Saputra, N. (2025). Critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Norman Fairclough’s theory on Gojek YouTube advertisement GoSend version: Jadi #BestSellerGoSend Bareng Ariel Noah. Studies in Media and Communication, 13(2), 175–187. https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v13i2.7561
Upadhyay, S., & Upadhyay, N. (2023). Mapping crisis communication in the communication research: What we know and what we don’t know. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(632), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02069-z
Vanvik, E. C. (2024). The paradoxes in corporate sustainability communication: A critical discourse analysis of an energy company’s annual reports. In S. Alghasi, E. C. Vanvik, J. Barland, & J. Falkheimer (Eds.), Strategic communication: Contemporary perspectives (pp. 153–176). Cappelen Damm Akademisk. https://doi.org/10.23865/noasp.208.ch8
Vaandering, dorothy, & Reimer, K. E. (2021). Relational Critical Discourse Analysis: A Methodology to Challenge Researcher Assumptions. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211020903
Van Dijk, T. A. (2018). Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach. Sage Publications.
Wang, Q., Ngai, C. S.-B., & Singh, R. G. (2021). A discursive analysis of crisis response strategies in CEO apologies: Drawing on linguistic insights from the appraisal framework. Management Communication Quarterly, 35(4), 602–622. https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189211012009
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dian Palupi, Chandra Fauzi, Muhyiddin Aziz, Ita Permatasari, Rizka Maulina Wulandari
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
In order to assure the highest standards for published articles, a peer review policy is applied. In pursue of the compliance with academic standards, all parties involved in the publishing process (the authors, the editors and the editorial board and the reviewers) agree to meet the responsibilities stated below in accordance to the Journal publication ethics and malpractice statement.
Duties of Authors:
- The author(s) warrant that the submitted article is an original work, which has not been previously published, and that they have obtained an agreement from any co-author(s) prior to the manuscript’s submission;
- The author(s) should not submit articles describing essentially the same research to more than one journal;
- The authors(s) make certain that the manuscript meets the terms of the Manuscript Submission Guideline regarding appropriate academic citation and that no copyright infringement occurs;
- The authors(s) should inform the editors about any conflict of interests and report any errors they subsequently, discover in their manuscript.
Duties of Editors and the Editorial Board:
- The editors, together with the editorial board, are responsible for deciding upon the publication or rejection of the submitted manuscripts based only on their originality, significance, and relevance to the domains of the journal;
- The editors evaluate the manuscripts compliance with academic criteria, the domains of the journal and the guidelines;
- The editors must at all times respect the confidentiality of any information pertaining to the submitted manuscripts;
- The editors assign the review of each manuscript to two reviewers chosen according to their domains of expertise. The editors must take into account any conflict of interest reported by the authors and the reviewers.
- The editors must ensure that the comments and recommendations of the reviewers are sent to the author(s) in due time and that the manuscripts are returned to the editors, who take the final decision to publish them or not.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
