| Similar to individuals using impression management to influence image, organizational impression management (OIM) suggests organizations use communications tactics to influence public opinion of company image and brand. OIM has been studied sporadically across industries and communications, but not within the field of law and social media. The purpose of this causal comparative quantitative study was to examine if there were differences in social media OIM strategies based on financial performance and litigation specialty by the largest revenue-grossing U.S. law firms. Although law firms may be hesitant to use social media due to legal and ethical constraints, studies have shown increased use among them. This study analyzed nearly 10,000 Twitter messages posted by six purposefully selected law firms over a 5-year period. Diction software was used to measure five OIM metrics, represented in rhetorical tone, which showed higher-revenue law firms exhibited higher Certainty and Optimism than lower-revenue firms. Subsequent analysis through repeated measures ANOVA confirmed differences in Certainty, although not statistically significant ( p = .063). There were no statistically significant differences among litigation specialties. There was a statistically significant difference in Activity between years 2011 and 2014 (p = .040), and a nearly significant difference between years 2010 and 2014 (p = .058). All firms over five years scored lower on Certainty and Realism than Diction's normative range. This dissertation has added to OIM research by examining OIM strategies used in social media by the largest revenue-grossing U.S. law firms. |
