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Corporate
Imag(in)ing Colombian sustainability
post-conflict in corporate reports

sustainability reports
Andrés Cabrera-Narv
aez
Faculty of Economic Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,
Bogot
a, Colombia, and Received 4 March 2019
Revised 3 September 2019

Fabi
an Leonardo Quinche-Martín 21 April 2020

27 June 2020
Faculty of Economic, Administrative and Accounting Sciences, 8 September 2020
10 October 2020
Fundaci
on Universitaria Los Libertadores, Bogota, Colombia 30 November 2020
Accepted 15 December 2020

Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to study the use of photos in corporate sustainability reports (CSRs) as a means
to gain legitimacy concerning Colombian post-conflict representations.
Design/methodology/approach – From a critical perspective based on legitimacy theory and political
economy theory, and using visual semiotics and critical discourse analysis, this paper examines the use of
photographs in sustainability reports as a mechanism to account for corporate actions regarding peace in
Colombia. This paper relies on 121 pictures from 30 CSRs.
Findings – The analysis shows that companies are gaining legitimacy by referring to post-conflict through
visual forms. Nonetheless, the structural conditions that caused the Colombian conflict are still present.
Sustainability reporting that includes peace action representations becomes a control and subordination
mechanism to reproduce existing power relations in the Colombian social order. Indeed, the generation of
opportunities for civilians and ex-combatants, victims reparation, security and reconciliation remains
unresolved structural issues. Hence, the use of corporate economic resources and their strategic visual
representation in reports is just one business way of representing firms as aligned with government
initiatives to obtain tax incentives.
Research limitations/implications – This study is centered on Colombian CSRs for the period 2016-2017;
however, 2017 reports by some companies have not yet been published. This study also explored the messages
contained in the images that include people. Images that do not depict persons were not examined.
Originality/value – This study provides evidence on visual representations of corporate peace actions
aimed at gaining corporate legitimacy. Furthermore, this research examines a unique scenario that promoted
more significant corporate social participation, following the signing of the peace agreements between the
Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias
de Colombia, Ejército del Pueblo).
Keywords Sustainability reporting, Visual analysis, Semiotic analysis, Colombian post-conflict
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
This paper examines the use of photos as a visual form of gaining legitimacy in
sustainability reporting. Visual forms are considered comprehensive elements within
sustainability reporting as they may be used as a means of corporate representation before
various audiences, especially when they play a representative, ideological or constitutive Sustainability Accounting,
Management and Policy Journal
role (Preston et al., 1996). Research on the use of the visual forms is relatively recent, but it © Emerald Publishing Limited
2040-8021
counts now with an enhanced body of texts with diverse perspectives, approaches and DOI 10.1108/SAMPJ-03-2019-0094
SAMPJ objects of study. Davison (2015) classifies visual studies in accounting into two types: visual
forms and issues. Regarding visual forms studies, Davison states that there are several
primary visual forms analyzed, such as photographs, films, architecture, sketches,
diagrams, adverts, art forms, color, presentation, format, book history, branding and logos,
traffic light performance, maps, postal accounting marks, video, Web pages, theater,
cosmetics, cartoon graphics and graphs. Accordingly, the main issues addressed in visual
accounting research are professional identity, corporate information, gender, visual rhetoric,
intellectual capital, the evolution of annual report, myth, religion, philosophy, ethics,
accountability, photo-elicitation, art, branding, everyday life, globalization, accounting and
capitalism, international exuberance and leadership.
The literature includes one paper and two special issues of journals in accounting: Tinker
and Neimark (1987); Accounting, Organizations and Society (1996); and Accounting,
Auditing and Accountability Journal (Davison and Warren, 2009). The works mentioned
explored visual forms usage in annual reports to understand visual representations of
women (Tinker and Neimark, 1987); annual reports construction (Graves et al., 1996);
communication (McKinstry, 1996); ways to analyze the use of images (Preston et al., 1996);
accountants representation (Baldvinsdottir et al., 2009); branding in annual report
construction (Davison, 2009); human face representation (Campbell et al., 2009); corporate
sustainability report (CSR) perceptions through websites (Cho et al., 2009); photographs in
tragedy representation (Matilal and Höpfl, 2009); and three-dimensional visualization
in annual reports (Justesen and Mouritsen, 2009). In past years, some works have
been published on the use of photographs in the field of accounting and accountability in
relation to downward accountability processes in cases of critical events (Taylor et al., 2014);
how diversity and inclusion agenda is assumed by Big Four firms (Edgley et al., 2016); how
women are underrepresented or represented in minor roles (Kyriacou, 2016); the usage of
several strategies to counter traditional stereotypes about the accounting profession (Parker
and Warren, 2017); the presentation of physical artifacts in the construction of the
accounting field (Ahn and Jacobs, 2018); and the identity construction of (Northern) NGOs
through the use of photographs (Dhanani, 2019). Likewise, in the Colombian context,
Ramírez et al. (2012) examine the semiotics in the construction of the logos and annual
reports of three Colombian corporations. Cuevas (2013) studies how accounting reports help
construct the “organizational self,” arguing that visual images are essential in identifying
and differentiating the corporation, the other, and the context. Directly related to
sustainability reporting research, some works focus on how images are used inside
sustainability reports to present corporations as wise and discerning (phronetic) by
incorporating values such as fairness, goodness and sustainability (Rämö, 2011); address
impression management by using graphs in their sustainability reports (Jones, 2011); the
usage of visual forms in corporate reports “more or less” oriented toward sustainability to
enhance corporate legitimacy before society (Hrasky, 2012); and the failure to disclose most
of the adverse events related to the companies that issue sustainability reports with higher
global reporting initiative (GRI) levels (A and Aþ) through the use of images unrelated to
their impacts (Boiral, 2013).
Nevertheless, the use of photographs to gain legitimacy in contexts where it is precarious
has not been sufficiently researched (Cho et al., 2009; Davison, 2015; Edgley et al., 2016;
Kyriacou, 2016; Parker and Warren, 2017; Ahn and Jacobs, 2018; Dhanani, 2019), specifically
in post-conflict scenarios. Sustainability reporting literature does not discuss the visual
legitimization strategies used by companies to pose as contributors to the social
construction of peace, especially from the participation of various actors such as the state,
companies, illegal groups and citizens (Parker, 2011; Rämö, 2011; Jones, 2011; Hrasky, 2012;
Boiral, 2013; Gray et al., 2014b; Cho et al., 2015; Chung and Cho, 2018). Therefore, we focused Corporate
on photos as a visual form of representing corporate peace actions in sustainability sustainability
reporting [1] and analyzed their use as a way to gain legitimacy. The above for the period
after the signing of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the
reports
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia,
Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP), denominated here as the Colombian post-conflict. Here,
security, opportunities and reconciliation become central issues in achieving social
reinsertion through sanctioned and unsanctioned legal mechanisms.
Our research questions are as follows: What are the messages conveyed by the images
related to the Colombian post-conflict in CSRs? How are post-conflict social actors
represented? What kind of relationship with the viewer is represented? From a critical
perspective, based on legitimacy theory (LT) and political economy (PE) theory, we
investigate the denoted and connoted role of 121 chosen photographs. These photographs
are included in CSRs by 30 Colombian entities disclosed in 2016 and 2017 and issued
between 2017 and 2018 in the GRI database. A qualitative-comprehensive approach is
adopted to interpret the meaning of these images through visual semiotics and a critical
discourse analysis (CDA) of social actors as a methodological strategy.
Consequently, this paper contributes to the existing literature on social and
environmental accounting (Rämö, 2011; Jones, 2011; Hrasky, 2012; Boiral, 2013; Gray et al.,
2014b; Cho et al., 2015; Chung and Cho, 2018) by studying photos included in sustainability
reporting to gain corporate legitimacy in post-conflict scenarios – lacking from the previous
types of analysis. In other words, as Davison (2015) explains, the existing literature has
focused on issues such as impression management, professional identity, gender and
diversity, whereas this paper targets corporate peace actions, adding to impression
management, but making emphasis on legitimacy constitution. Following Davison (2015),
this paper expands the literature by dealing with contexts from emerging and developing
countries such as Colombia. Furthermore, this paper addresses critical thinking in visual
research from authors such as Theo Van Leeuwen (2001, 2008); Davison (2015); and
Kyriacou (2016).
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the theoretical
framework of this study, focusing on the main theories of critical perspectives on
sustainability accounting, namely, LT and PE theory. Section 3 introduces the
methodological approach followed by this research. Section 4 describes the Colombian post-
conflict scenario, emphasizing some historical aspects and the final agreement derived from
the dialogues between FARC-EP and the Colombian government. The primary results of
this study are presented and depicted in Section 5, using images from Colombian CSRs.
Finally, some discussion and concluding remarks are presented in Section 6.

2. Critical perspectives on sustainability accounting and visual accounting

2.1 Legitimacy theory
Legitimacy LT is the daughter of the “bourgeois” or pluralist side of PE (Deegan, 2007;
Archel, 2014). It is one of the most widely used and disseminated theories in social and
environmental accounting research. LT states that organizations tend to respond to social
system values from the context they belong to and, for that purpose, deploy various
strategies. This theory is related to the social contract theory from which organizations are
supposed to operate if society supports them (Milne and Patten, 2002; Deegan, 2007; Archel
et al., 2009; Lindblom, 2010; O’Dwyer et al., 2011; Beelitz and Merkl-Davies, 2012). For
Deegan (2007), the primary concern of this theoretical approach is organizational legitimacy,
which is determined by the perception of society about the performance of organizations.
SAMPJ Legitimacy [2] is a concept relative to society in a specific time and space. It thus becomes
a resource for the survival of the organization. However, it is also a resource that can be
manipulated through the activities of an organization and the presentation of related
information, as legitimacy depends on society’s perceptions. Similarly, LT has three more
characteristics. First, it is a positive theory in the sense that it seeks to describe (and predict)
what the organization does to maintain or increase its legitimacy. Second, it conceives the
organization as an open system that influences and is influenced by society. Third, the
studies on legitimacy have mainly targeted the strategic level (the process of search of
legitimacy that is carried out from the organization) and, to a lesser extent, the institutional
level (the one carried out from an economic sector) (Deegan, 2007).
This research focuses on differences in legitimacy that mainly occur when the company acts
contrary to its values or its relevant audiences. According to Archel (2014), the starting point is
to identify the conflicts experienced by society (through legal cases and news, among others)
and the responses provided in terms of information produced by the company. Hence, social
and environmental reporting promotes and socializes a biased view of the company to spread a
positive image. Therefore, attaining social legitimacy will be the primary consideration for
companies to disclose information (Archel et al., 2009; Soobaroyen and Mahadeo, 2016).
Lindblom (2010) and Deegan (2007) argue that there are fundamentally four communication
strategies adopted by organizations to obtain, maintain or recover their legitimacy: to inform
relevant audiences about real changes in the organization’s behavior that bring it closer to
social values and expectations; to change the perceptions of the relevant audiences through the
presentation of social and environmental information without changing their behavior; to
manage the perception of their relevant audiences through manipulation, deception, or
distraction with other related issues; and to change the perception of relevant audiences by
interfering in the changing process of society’s values and expectations.
As previously stated, accounting conveys the prevailing rationalities in society by
implying its logic, a language based on quantification and the appearance of objectivity and
neutrality. By incorporating these rationalities into their operation, organizations can
establish legitimacy with social systems values. Besides, through reporting, organizations
bring into play one of the four strategies presented above. Accounting research studies on
LT have been quite extensive, although most of them have relied on statistical analysis
(Milne and Patten, 2002; Ogden and Clarke, 2005; Breton and Cote, 2006; Deegan, 2007;
Linsley and Kajüter, 2008; Cho et al., 2012; Soobaroyen and Ntim, 2013; Lanis and
Richardson, 2013). In view of this, Tregidga et al. (2007) call for developing research from the
perspective of LT using discursive analysis.
In turn, according to Archel and Husillos (2009) and Archel et al. (2009), LT has several
problems, as follows: first, it lacks of a robust theoretical framework that allows having
clarity about all the concepts it entails (e.g. relevant public); second, empirical research has
concentrated mainly on the information produced about the company (financial reports,
social and environmental reports, news), but little has been studied in regard to the
perception of relevant audiences, who would be those granting legitimacy to the
organization; and third, given that their focus is primarily the organization, there is no
relationship to institutional constraints and how these allow or prevent the construction of
legitimacy by the organization.

2.2 Marxist political economy theory

Following Archel et al. (2009) and Spence et al. (2010), LT is not sufficient to broadly
understand society’s social and environmental information implications. LT helps to
understand organizational legitimacy – i.e. it remains at the micro-level – although it does
not contribute to comprehend the legitimacy that the system itself acquires with social and Corporate
environmental information, thus lacking a macro-social approach for the analysis of this sustainability
type of information. For this reason, an approach to understand the role of social and
environmental information in society is assumed from the theory of PE, which is of Marxist
reports
origin.
From this perspective, capitalism is a powerful vehicle for economic progress. However,
such progress would fall when private property becomes an obstacle to social development
(Chang, 2014). The economic base of societies is made up of production forces and relations.
Here, technologies, machines, human skills and property rights, employment relationships
and labor division are set to produce. In this respect, social conflict stems from the unequal
relations within production. Because of this, society is explained by the class struggle. In
fact, “The history of hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (Marx and
Engels, 1948, p. 9). This class conflict becomes central in society’s progress from the belief
that the economy is made up of social classes, in which the working class plays an important
role. Workers’ movements are expected to promote structural changes in society, and this
change is only possible if capitalism is removed (Gray et al., 2010).
In this context, accounting becomes “a means for resolving social conflict, a device for
appraising the terms of exchange between social constituencies, and an institutional
mechanism for arbitrating, evaluating, and adjudicating social choices” (Tinker, 1985, p. 81).
In other words, accounting is neither independent nor neutral in major social struggles and
conflicts. Therefore, accounting and accounting theories make part of social ideologies and,
as an ideology, are always changing and changeable (Tinker et al., 1982). Hence, accounting
is no longer conceived as a mere set of calculation routines but as a cohesive and influential
mechanism for economic and social management (Burchell et al., 1980).
According to Tinker (1985), PE theory allocates a valuable role for accounting
information, whereas accounting practices assist in the solution of social conflicts related to
production and exchange. But, above all, accounting information is potentially useful in
making decisions for investors, managers, workers, among others. Therefore, “accounting is
part of the exchange process itself – as an informational commodity that promotes
exchange” (p. 84), and its social values are given because of its active and representative role
of a determined social and political context.
Consequently, information disclosure is considered a means of social control and
discipline that reproduces existing power relations in the social context emitted. Hence, the
accounting role is to act as a control mechanism to subordinate certain social groups under
capital necessities (Archel and Husillos, 2009).
According to Archel (2014), research on social and environmental accounting from a PE
approach has shown that accounting information is being used to hide or minimize the
relevance of certain conflicts, rather than to solve them, legitimating the operation of the
system itself. At the same time, this research considers an essential task for corporations
and the market to “capture” the social and environmental agenda through social and
environmental information, including an ideological discourse that does not move away
from nor questions the status quo of corporate power over society. Therefore, PE research
considers that social and environmental accounting, as currently structured, cannot
generate significant changes in the relationship between organizations and the environment.
For this to be possible, PE proposes that it is necessary to carry out transformation system
processes. It is also imperative to develop different accounting forms that are not centered
on the organization nor produced by this (exclusively). These external accounts have
acquired different conceptions: counter-accounts, anti-accounts and social audits, among
others.
SAMPJ Nevertheless, according to Soobaroyen and Mahadeo (2016), the neo-pluralist perspective
of social and environmental accounting (combining the perceptions of classical PE and
bourgeois PE) can provide insights into the local disclosure of social information. In this
regard, their approach focuses on the fact that social and environmental disclosure can help
manage or alleviate national concerns. This approach also recognizes the existence of
unequal distribution of power, conflicts of interest and social and environmental disclosure
in controlled or captured contexts. Therefore, they argue that their consideration is
appropriate to investigate social information and its implications in local social contexts.
We argue that social and environmental accounting lies within the critical perspective that
recognizes that ideologies underpin information on the socio-environmental performance of
corporations. These ideologies promote and socialize hegemonic values around the
maintenance and reproduction of power relations, the achievement of social legitimacy and the
discursive transformation of organizations’ context and operations. The above implies that
corporate social and environmental information serves as subordination mechanisms of social
groups to the capital needs; strategic means to reduce legitimacy gaps between corporations
and the social context they belong; or even that they are forms of managing stakeholders
information needs in correspondence with their power, legitimacy and urgency. So, from both
theories, accounting can construct a reality from the language and representations that it
includes. In this matter, the use of images within social and environmental reports has become
instrumental for building organizational legitimacy, accounting for social and environmental
programs and activities. Images also become an essential device for the transmission and/or
construction of ideological discourses that give meaning to the organizational and social reality.
As shown below, images construct meanings around social actors.

2.3 Critical perspectives on visual accounting research

Although briefly, the critical perspectives of accounting research have also deepened within
visual analysis. Tinker and Neimark’s (1987) work draws on the PE of accounting to show
how women’s representation in annual reports has been transformed. However, such a
change has not meant a decrease in oppression toward women but a perpetuation of
production relations. Kyriacou’s study (2016, p. 36) makes use of CDA applied to visual
research to “relate the content of the Greek Accounting Professional Institute’s digital space
to the broader structures and the gendered accounting discourses deployed by accountants.”
She examines how women are represented in an electronic magazine during the financial
crisis (2008-2012), recognizing the particular discourses of a community in a specific context.
Kyriacou then shows how women are represented in a subordinate way within these types
of discourses, giving the impression that the profession is hierarchically classified through
gender. From a Bourdiesian perspective, Ahn and Jacobs (2018) analyze the arrangement of
physical objects and their photographic depiction in professional companies websites to
reflect the struggle of capital within the accounting field. On the other hand, Dhanani (2019)
uses post-colonial theory and Fairclough’s CDA to study how NGOs build their own and
others identity through images in their annual reports. According to this author, the
representation of Southern communities in NGOs’ annual reports prepared in Northern
countries reproduces colonial hegemonic domination and power practices.
Thus, critical research within visual studies has vast potential for inquiry. First, several
critical perspectives have not been used for visual research; particularly, LT could give us
insight into the reasons for the use of images in organizational reports. Second, despite its
high qualitative level and extensive use, visual research has not significantly addressed the
use of images in sustainability reports. Therefore, this document contributes in three ways
to the critical literature on visual studies: it deepens the view of the PE of accounting; adds to
the studies on legitimacy from the critical analysis of discourse (Tregidga et al., 2007); and Corporate
investigates the use of images in sustainability reports, a barely explored issue. sustainability
reports
3. Methodological notes
This paper adopts a qualitative approach to analyze the use of images as a visual form of
representing Colombian post-conflict in CSRs through a semiotic and visual analysis, thus
contributing to the comprehension of peace actions visually depicted by Colombian
companies to enhance their legitimacy before society. Thereby, this section provides a brief
description of the research approach and the technique for data collection and analysis.

3.1 Data sources and method

Special attention is given to the use of images for meaning construction, according to
Barthes (1986). Thus, denotative, connotative and linguistic messages are examined since
image meaning is provided in the reading and interpretation process by authors and
readers. By denotative message, it is understood that the set of elements is presented in an
image that can be directly described. This kind of message plays, among others, the role of
naturalizing what is represented, making it “evident” and “realized.” Specifically, it refers to
the objects represented objectively in the image, whose reading is only achieved through
perception.
On the other hand, the connoted message refers to the image’s signs that provoke
sensations, emotions or ideological meanings. Thus, the reading of the image implies a
cultural, historical and contextual interpretation. It corresponds to all those meanings that
both emissaries and readers allocate onto the photo from their “idiolects” or lexicons, which
are constituted by diverse knowledge. Furthermore, the linguistic message is composed by
the text attached to the image and plays two roles: the role of anchorage, or description of
what “must be” understood from the photo; and another role of a relay, present in image
sequences in which text adds new meanings to the image, but that cannot be comprehended
without the image itself, as they constitute the same unity.
Hence, a CDA of visual forms was developed according to Van Leeuwen (2001, 2008) to
identify the representation and categorization of the social actors in Colombian CSRs
images. We use CDA because it allows to understand social reality and its relationship with
language, revealing the implicit ideology in textual/visual discourse, which exerts power
and exclusion to visualize these individualizing power dynamics. Here, we respond to the
call of Tregidga et al. (2007) by considering that companies are increasing their social and
environmental disclosure of information in terms of language/image/social practices. The
above provides evidence on the corporate attempt to produce a kind of legitimacy that needs
to be researched.
For this purpose, denoted, connoted and linguistic analyses were developed in three
phases. First, a preliminary analysis was carried out to identify the evolution of Colombian
companies that disclosed reports in the GRI database from 2005 to 2018. In this regard, since
2003, several firms in Colombia have been issuing CSRs (Ariza-Buenaventura, 2012; G
omez-
Villegas and Quintanilla, 2012). Accordingly, 301 organizations have published 1,247
sustainability reports in Colombia from 2005 to 2018 (GRI, 2019). It should be noted that
some organizations upload their reports to the GRI database in an untimely manner.
Therefore, the number of reports for this period is expected to increase.
Nonetheless, our interest focuses on the 2016–2017 period, when 293 sustainability
reports were published in the GRI database (191 in 2016 and 102 in 2017). From these
reports, we selected those that included photos as a means of representing corporate peace
actions in the post-conflict scenario. As a result, we obtained 30 sustainability reports from
SAMPJ which 121 images were derived for analysis. This period of study was chosen because as of
2016 Colombia entered the stage known as post-conflict. Table 1 shows a total of 30 reports
selected for visual analysis. It should be clarified that owing to permissions/constraints,
pictures are not reproduced in this paper. Instead, links are provided for the reader to access
the original reports.
Selected images were coded in the second phase of the CDA. In this context, VA Leeuwen
considers that two main strategies to represent actors are exclusion and inclusion. Exclusion is
carried out by “not representing people at all in contexts where, in reality, they are present”
(2008, p. 147). On the other hand, inclusion is performed by presenting actors as involved or not
in any action, assigning any role into society; by generic presentation, namely, showing actors
as belonging to some (biological or cultural) category, or emphasizing unique characteristics of
a person, as belonging to a specific type; and by presenting actors in an individual or group
way. In Barthesian terms, Van Leeuwen (2001) states that these strategies account for the
denotative message. In this respect, we examined the message denoted to describe the
inclusion/exclusion of actors. It means if actors were involved (actively or passively) or not in
action, if they were presented in a generic (cultural or biological) or specific way, and if an
individual or a group (homogenization/differentiation) representation was held.
Afterward, images connotative message was analyzed to visualize how the viewer is
related to the represented actor. Van Leeuwen (2008) considers three categories as necessary:

Name Sector Year Images

Bancamia Financial services 2016 2

Bavaria Colombia Food and beverage products 2016 2
Bolsa de Valores de Colombia Financial services 2016 3
Caracol Televisi
on Media 2016 1
Cemex Colombia Construction materials 2016 1
Citibank Colombia Financial services 2016 4
Claro Telecommunications 2016 1
Ecopetrol Energy 2016 3
Equion Energía Limited Energy 2016 1
Finagro Financial services 2016 2
Findeter Financial services 2016 3
Fundaci
on Plan Non-profit/services 2016 3
Fundaci
on Saldarriaga Concha Non-profit/Services 2016 7
Grupo Prodeco Mining 2016 5
Interactuar Non-profit/services 2016 2
Invesa Chemicals 2016 1
Isagen Energy utilities 2016 9
Postob
on Food and beverage products 2016 3
Promigas S.A. Energy utilities 2016 1
RCN Televisi
on Media 2016 3
Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia Universities 2016 2
Universidad EAFIT Universities 2016 28
Table 1. Bancamia Financial services 2017 2
Corporate Bolsa de Valores de Colombia Financial services 2017 1
Finagro Financial services 2017 3
sustainability reports
Fundaci
on Saldarriaga Concha Non-profit/Services 2017 15
containing Grupo Energía de Bogot
a Energy 2017 2
photographs about Oleoducto Bicentenario de Colombia Other 2017 1
Colombian post- Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia Universities 2017 7
conflict (2016-2017) Zona Franca de Barranquilla Logistics 2017 3
social distance, social relation and social interaction. Social distance refers to the closeness or Corporate
remoteness in which actors are presented. Social relation refers to how the viewer is sustainability
involved or detached from the actor (frontal or lateral angle) and how power is represented
(over-representation, equality, over viewer). Finally, interaction has to do with how the actor
reports
is represented “seeing” or not to the viewer, which could stand for direct or indirect
interaction.
In the case of the linguistic message, the analysis sought for its existence or nonexistence;
if it does exist, the message was classified into three categories: nominative (anchorage),
descriptive (anchorage) or explicative (relay). A nominative message seeks to add the name
of a person or object in the photograph. A descriptive message refers to the action
presentation carried out in the image. Finally, an explicative message adds an explanation
or new meaning to actions and/or actors represented in the picture. Nevertheless, the last
phase is related to the interpretation and presentation of the results.

4. Colombian post-conflict
This work has assumed the Colombian post-conflict as case study to identify the role of
corporations in visual communication during this critical phase of the Colombian conflict.
For this reason, this section briefly describes the conflict and the actors involved until the
signing of the peace agreements between the Colombian government and FARC-EP.
The history of Colombia is marked by conflict and violence. The first half of the
20th century witnessed the confrontation between the two traditional political parties:
liberal and conservative. In the 1940s and 1950s, this confrontation became intense and
cruel, so much that this period is known as “La Violencia” [The Violence] (Guzm
an et al.,
1980; Bushnell, 2007; Ortiz, 1994). This term “finished” with the military coup led by Rojas
Pinilla (with liberal and conservative support) in 1953. However, he was overthrown in 1957
by the same liberal and conservative parties. Then, the two parties founded “El Frente
Nacional” [National Front], by which they swap the presidency every four years.
Some factions of the left-hand parties felt excluded and, as a response to bipartisan
violence, conformed FARC-EP and Ejército de Liberaci
on Nacional (ELN) armed groups. For
Ulloa and Coronado (2016, p. 28):
The Foundation of left-wing guerrillas took place in 1964: the origins of the FARC-EP are in the
peasant bases inherited from the liberal guerrillas that participated in the period of La Violencia
(1948-1954). For its part, the ELN emerged from a confluence of peasant and urban sectors
inspired by the experience of the Cuban Revolution and the wars of national liberation. Other left-
wing guerrillas were founded and operated during the 1970s and 1980s [as M-19 and EPL]. Still,
they participated in negotiation and demobilization processes that converged in the subsequent
National Constituent Assembly that promulgated the Political Constitution of 1991.
In addition, paramilitary groups were conformed “attacking not only armed groups but also
wide sectors of the population, arguing that they share their ideological and political
platform” (Ulloa and Coronado, 2016, p. 28). An example of this is the extermination of the
Union Patri
otica (UP) political party, created in the 1980s to gain some seats within the
government. According to Ortiz (2003, p. 747):
Between 1985 to 1986, 230 of its members were assassinated, in 1987, to this result, 100 more
militants were added, and in 1988, in San Rafael, Antioquia, one of the departments that have
enormously suffered extermination, 18 miners sympathizing with UP were initially victims of
forced disappearance and later tortured and assassinated.
Because of conflict duration and the lack of resources and financial support, guerrillas
started to finance themselves through kidnapping and drug trafficking. M-19 guerrilla
SAMPJ group carried out the seizure of the Colombian Palace of Justice (Palacio de Justicia) in 1985
to avoid the extradition of drug traffickers, with the support of the Medellín cartel. This
cartel made terrorist attacks and magnicides, bombing important buildings in major
Colombian cities and the assassination of political leaders such as Luis Carlos Gal
an, Carlos
Pizarro, Jaime Pardo Leal and Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, among others.
In the face of the weakening of drug cartels, paramilitary and guerrilla groups assumed
drug trafficking in the 1990s; this issue made conflict deeper. Paramilitary groups
perpetrated several massacres, and many people were displaced from their homes and
towns. Even in Antioquia department, these groups became legal when Las Convivir, armed
groups of citizens against the insurgency, were created. The government of Álvaro Uribe
Velez (accused sometimes of being supported by paramilitary structures and Governor of
Antioquia in the origins of Las Convivir) made a peace negotiation with paramilitary groups
from 2002 to 2005. Although there are many doubts about this process, public opinion was
oriented toward FARC-EP and ELN as the only active groups within the Colombian armed
conflict.
Following Char
a (2015, pp. 52-53), it can be said that:
State armed actors have been responsible for targeted killings, tortures, and forced
disappearances [. . .] guerrilla groups have been responsible for the use of antipersonnel mines,
damage to civilian property, forced displacement, extortions, kidnapping, and recruitment of
children and adolescents. By their way, paramilitary groups have been associated with
massacres, death threats, forced displacement, land dispossession, and sexual felonies.
As a result, FARC-EP was devastated by the weakening of its force because of the armed
conflict. Two of the top leaders of this criminal organization had been neutralized, being the
new FARC-EP commander alias “Timochenko.” Thanks to this new leader, rapprochements
were achieved with the state for further negotiation around peace. In fact, according to
Pizarro (2017), “generational change was one of the key success factors for the reopening of
the peace talks” (p. 374).
Under the government of Juan Manuel Santos, the reestablished negotiations were
evolving, attending to a new agenda. Now, the peace talks focused on three phases:
exploration, negotiation and implementation. In the first phase, recognizing the mutual will
to negotiate as well as the rules of operation, participants, place of negotiation and the role of
the international community were crucial. In the second stage, peace talks turned around a
series of central topics: integral rural development policy, political participation, end of the
conflict, finding a solution to illicit drugs and victims reparation. Finally, the last phase
covered agreements, endorsement of the accords, demobilization, disarmament and
reintegration, proper implementation of substantive agreements, transit from arms to
politics and the transitional justice model.
The second phase of this process finished in 2016, and the next step was to endorse the
agreements, a process that was executed through a plebiscite mechanism. Despite
accumulating too many peace negotiations processes in past years, the plebiscite results did
not approve the final agreements. This fact made the Colombian government promote a
series of legislative and normative projects to guarantee what was agreed in Havana’s peace
dialogues through a “fast track” mechanism. Based on the legal mechanisms sanctioned and
to be approved, the peace agreements negotiated became valid, and the period known as the
“post-conflict” began, focusing on three elements: security, opportunities and reconciliation
and coexistence.
In this respect, the participation of the Colombian business community has been decisive.
The Colombian presidency has stated that, working hand in hand with the private sector,
two main objectives focused on contributing to the country’s economic decentralization and
socioeconomic and infrastructure rehabilitation have been established. To this end, a series Corporate
of tax incentives were created. This initiative is made up of three fronts: infrastructure sustainability
through the tax works model; business relocation through a special tax regime in the areas
most affected by the conflict; and development of the social fabric through scholarships
reports
inclusion and promotion of savings for old age through Periodic Economic Benefits, BEPS
(Consejería Presidencial para la Estabilizaci
on y la Consolidaci
on, 2019).

5. Visual images of the post-conflict in Colombian corporate sustainability

reports
This study focuses on the use of visual forms to gain corporate legitimacy through
sustainability reports. Therefore, we paid special attention to photography to identify the
visual messages that account for Colombian post-conflict in these reports. The main
findings emphasize on the three types of analysis carried out: denotative, connotative and
linguistic.

5.1 Denotative analysis

The general characteristic of the images analyzed in this paper is to represent mainly people.
From the total of images, 106 contain different actors: artists, children, community,
managers, military forces, peace leaders, political leaders, academics, social leaders, TV
actresses, users and workers. The remaining 15 photos (completing 121) do not depict
people. Most of the individuals represented are community members, although it is difficult
to say if these people are direct participants of the conflict (combatants or victims) or just
players of different corporate social responsibility programs without a direct link with the
conflict.
The inclusion of people, in most images, tends to assign them an unquestionable and
independent existence of the circumstances. This inclusion naturalizes the photographed to
make it reasonable and socially normalized by resorting to the representation of essential
features, heterogeneity and even timelessness. Therefore, corporate actions are presented in
their objective state (the social world) and their incorporated form (society’s habitus). For its
part, concealment, which is presented in the rest of the images, expresses a staging of partial
knowledge, relevance of some issues over others and the fragmentation and distortion of
social reality. Thus, inclusion or exclusion promotes a way of building the social world
based on power dynamics as a way to represent dominant and dominated actors. Here, the
prevalent persuasion and resignification strategies are used to change the perceptions of
society.
Similarly, regarding the main categories of post-conflict, the images mostly show people
and actions about constructing opportunities for the victims of armed conflict.
Reconciliation and coexistence are the second categories of post-conflict in which
representations are made. It is important to note that the communities are represented
mainly related to the opportunities category (Table 2). This representation, which
emphasizes the generation of opportunities over reconciliation and coexistence, accounts for
the corporate ideology embodied in the images examined. In other words, Colombian
corporations concentrate their actions on generating ways to impact social perception
instead of transforming reality. Thus, there is no further interest by corporations in
developing alternatives for the social reinsertion of ex-combatants. Moreover, no
mechanisms exist to guarantee employment for these people or to promote forgiveness as
the basis of the peace process. In short, the corporate actions photographed are a way of
imagining the post-conflict with the aim of promoting corporate and government interests.
SAMPJ Actor Opportunities Security Reconciliation and coexistence Total

Artists (A) 0 0 1 1
Children (Ch) 0 0 2 2
Community (C) 44 0 14 58
Managers (M) 0 1 0 1
Military forces (MF) 0 2 0 2
N/A 12 0 3 15
Peace leaders (P) 0 0 2 2
Table 2. Political leaders (PL) 10 0 0 10
Academics (Ac) 16 0 5 21
Represented actors
Social leaders (SL) 2 0 0 2
related to post-conflict TV actress (TVA) 1 0 0 1
categories in corporate Users (U) 0 0 1 1
sustainability reports Workers (W) 2 0 3 5
photographs Total 87 3 31 121

The main findings related to the visual representation of social actors are presented in Table 3.
Depending on the type of actor, they were presented as agents (active parts of the situation
presented) or patients (recipients of other actions). The community and academics were the actors
who mostly presented themselves as peacebuilding agents. However, looking at them separately,
the community was mainly shown as a patient, whereas academics were rarely represented in the
same way. In 95% of cases, academics were identified as agents. In other words, within the
analyzed reports, the main actors represented as involved in peacebuilding are related to academia.
In addition, key actions derive from this kind of person. Political leaders, although not the main
actors, are also presented as peacebuilders and post-conflict contributors. Workers, social leaders
and peace leaders are almost always excluded. A curious representation has been evidenced in
Caracol Televisi
on report, where a soap opera actress is shown as a peacebuilder by merely
playing the leading role in a TV show about armed conflict.
Similarly, the persons represented photographically are introduced from an inclusive
perspective, and specific and generic type, to denote a kind of indeterminate actor pointing

Agency A Ch C M MF N/A P PL Ac SL TVA U W

Agent 1 2 16 1 2 0 2 10 20 2 1 0 4
N/A 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Patient 0 0 42 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
Inclusion type
Biological categorization 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cultural categorization 1 2 55 0 0 0 2 6 20 2 0 1 5
N/A 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Specific 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 0
# Inclusion
Differentiation 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 8 15 2 0 0 2
Table 3. Homogenized 1 2 32 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 1 3
Individual 0 0 21 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0
Findings related to
N/A 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
the visual
representation of Notes: Artists (A); Children (Ch); Community (C); Managers (M); Military Forces (MF); Peace leaders (P);
social actors Political leaders (PL); Academics (Ac); Social leaders (SL); TV actress (TVA); Users (U); Workers (W)
out their relevant biological and cultural aspects, such as race, age, sex and even gender. On Corporate
the other hand, a specific inclusion is used to emphasize an actor. In this context, most actors sustainability
(artists, children, community, peace leaders, academics, social leaders, users and workers)
were generically included (77, 6% from total photos), emphasizing a cultural categorization.
reports
Generic inclusion makes actors peacebuilders with no specific face. Nevertheless, the
foremost political leaders and the TV actress representations are displayed in a specific way.
In other words, representation is emphasized on these actors’ unique characteristics; for
instance, politicians, based on their role in the promotion (Juan Manuel Santos) or rejection
of the agreements (Álvaro Uribe Vélez); and for the actress, related to her performance in a
TV program about the armed conflict.
The number of inclusions was an essential element considered. Most of the actors, in this
sense, can be represented individually or in groups. Conversely, group representation
comprises more than one actor and may be homogeneous or differentiated. The results show
how most actors are represented in a group way, using the conception “there is a strength in
numbers”. Likewise, the homogeneous and differentiated group representation was used
almost equally. On one side, differentiated group representation was the least used,
emphasizing academics and political leaders. On the other side, homogeneous representation
(the most extensive group) focused on representing the community, peace leaders and
workers. This aspect becomes very clear from the identification of the linguistic message
that accompanies each image.
Here, the images use visual resources to construct or eliminate actors according to their
relevance. The above allows organizations to build pictures of the reality adjusted to their
interests, socially conditioned or according to particular requirements. Therefore, in some
cases, actors are eliminated strategically, hiding their actions or dispensing with their social
responsibility. Similarly, the visual representation of these social actors generates
alternative constructions of what is represented, so that they are considered agents or
patients according to their capacity to exercise power. Its personalization structurally
modifies the meaning attributed to the post-conflict to recreate a human or non-human idea,
depending on the case. For instance, most actors’ substitute features are used to associate
them with their places or activities.
From this analysis, it can be interpreted that there is a structural association of the
concepts of post-conflict, peace or peacebuilding with actors such as communities, political
leaders and academics. Furthermore, most of them are actively presented within this
association. However, communities are mainly presented passively or patiently – business
program recipients – as beneficiaries of CSRs. Communities are also associated with
reconciliation and coexistence, which leads them to be shown as victims of the conflict. On
the other hand, politicians, academics and even actresses are important actors in
peacebuilding, deserving specific, individualized or differentiated recognition. Despite being
the victims of the conflict, communities are not mainly represented. For this reason, other
actors become more relevant in the construction of peace.

5.2 Connotative analysis

The connoted analysis considers the observer’s angle, the gaze of the represented actor and
distance between both actors (Table 4). This analysis is performed to interpret the
relationship, power and interaction in the photographs. According to Barthes (1986), the
connoted analysis implies a look at the cultural, contextual, historical values that shed light
on the semiological charge given to photography.
On the one hand, the distance between the observer and the represented actor suggests
two types of distancing: near and far. This particular observation concerns how the
SAMPJ Distance A Ch C M MF N/A P PL Ac SL TVA U W

Far 1 1 22 1 0 0 2 5 13 1 0 1 0
Close 0 1 36 0 2 0 0 5 8 1 1 0 5
N/A 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Relation
Involvement 0 2 26 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
Detachment 1 0 31 0 2 0 1 8 19 2 1 1 4
N/A 0 0 1 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Power
Viewer power 0 1 27 0 2 0 1 0 10 1 0 0 0
Power representation 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Equality 1 1 25 1 0 0 1 10 9 1 1 1 4
N/A 0 0 3 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Interaction
Table 4. Direct 0 2 13 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1
Indirect 1 0 42 0 2 0 2 10 19 2 1 1 3
Findings related to
N/A 0 0 3 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
image representation
and its relationship Notes: Artists (A); Children (Ch); Community (C); Managers (M); Military Forces (MF); Peace leaders (P);
with the viewer Political leaders (PL); Academics (Ac); Social leaders (SL); TV actress (TVA); Users (U); Workers (W)

observer-observed relationship is defined and how the photographer sees the others. The
close and far representation is almost the same. However, the far one is more frequent. In far
distance, the highest participation in actor representation frequency occurs in the
community and academics. In contrast, in close distancing, the community itself, political
leaders, workers and academics are presented as being close. The above means that the
community, political leaders and academics are the closest actors in peacebuilding and post-
conflict contribution. It symbolically promotes the idea of actors as friends or strangers to
the peace process. Therefore, those depicted as friends or strangers will be essential for
providing a positive corporate image. Depicting political leaders in this matter socializes the
idea of acting in accordance to what is considered to be politically correct in a particular
context. Moreover, depicting the community as a close agent allows meaning to a joint
construction with the society and its value system.
On the other hand, the relationship between the depicted actor and the observer may be
involved or detached. In general, this relationship usually occurs in a detached way, with the
community, academics, political leaders and military forces being the representatives of this
vision. Very few images of actors such as political leaders and community are evidenced as
involved. In this context, the detached depiction implies that social actors occupy a marginal
position that does not confront or face their actions.
The type of power used in the representation took three forms: observer with power,
actor depicted with power and equality. The most common form of representation was on an
equal basis, although the observer with power also had a meaningful participation. In an
identical way of depiction, the community, political leaders, academics and workers were the
main actors. Meanwhile, military forces, community and academics were represented as
without power. About 35% of the photos highlighted the power held by the observer. This
disempowered representation extends an idea of equality that materializes in capturing the
other on the same level as the observer. Such a representation, therefore, arouses a desire to
legitimize companies.
 Finally, the interaction between the observer and the representation, considered Corporate
necessary in the way meaning is constructed, was identified as direct and indirect. Thus, sustainability
although it is expected that interaction in peacebuilding and post-conflict contribution
would be direct, the highest form of representation of this relationship occurred directly with
reports
nearly 66% of total photos. The actors depicted as directly related were children, managers,
workers and some academics and communities. The rest of the actors were always
indirectly related. The indirect depiction makes visible the symbolic exercise of other(s)
exclusion, keeping them at a distance to accuse or criticize them.
The connoted message analysis shows the pretension of the companies to appear neutral
with the actors they represent. The close, detached, equal and indirect relations that
predominate in the images put the actors in the same conditions, on the same level. However,
it is also clear that power relations become more explicit in the images depicting
communities. That is, although the community is seen as close, from above or at an equal
angle, it is not a power holder. Communities are audiences, they are receivers, dependent on
the orientations of politicians, academics, peace leaders or actresses.

5.3 Linguistic message analysis

Finally, as for the linguistic message, it is possible to see that just four photographs lack this
type of message. Although the number of images accompanied by a nominative message is
essential, 78 photographs use it to explain or describe the situation depicted. In this sense,
46% of the photos are accompanied by an explicative message, 32% use a nominative
message, and about 18% introduce a descriptive message. To conclude, some images of the
community and social leaders are accompanied by merely descriptive messages. In other
words, corporations use linguistic messages to describe or explain photographs, adding a
new meaning to represented actors and actions (Table 5).
As the final phase of the results, we present some insights into the content of the images
of the three most represented actors, i.e. community, academics and political leaders, to
reveal the prevailing ideology of these actors, especially the political leaders, and the
treatment that Colombian companies give to the community.

5.4 Community
The community is photographed in about 50% of the total number of images, making it an
essential stakeholder to whom attention is directed in sustainability reports. As previously
stated, the community is represented in 58 pictures, of which the Saldarriaga Concha
Foundation included 22 in their sustainability reports. In line with the above, the community
is portrayed as the most important actor in peacebuilding. Communities are used to point
out that post-conflict has a direct impact over these social structures, especially those
affected by armed conflict and violence.

Kind of message A Ch C M MF N/A P PL Ac SL TVA U W

Nominative 0 0 7 0 0 2 0 9 19 2 0 0 0
Explicative 0 2 36 0 2 7 0 1 2 0 1 1 4
Descriptive 1 0 14 1 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
N/A 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Table 5.
Notes: Artists (A); Children (Ch); Community (C); Managers (M); Military Forces (MF); Peace leaders (P); Linguistic message
Political leaders (PL); Academics (Ac); Social leaders (SL); TV actress (TVA); Users (U); Workers (W) function
SAMPJ According to the analysis performed, the community is represented in two ways. On one
side, it is a passive actor represented in an inclusive and involved way but from a far
distance. There is no specific type of inclusion but a generic type of cultural inclusion that is
identified only as a victim of conflict and violence. Similarly, there is no differentiated
representation. All the people photographed are simply recognized by their status of victims
and not by their individuality or their actions regarding peace (Bancamia, 2016, p. 102;
Citibank Colombia, 2016, p. 13; Fundaci
on Plan, 2016, p. 62; Saldarriaga Concha Foundation,
2016, 2017, p. 19; p. 56). On the other hand, some images are characterized by representing a
community member individually, actively and generically but without this being fully
identified. This representation is made in a close, yet distant way, without power over the
observer and without interaction (Saldarriaga Concha Foundation, 2017, p. 54).
From the above, it is possible to point out that the community represents a group of
individuals that are necessary to present corporate actions for peacebuilding. However, the
active, interactive, involved and/or close representation of the community is not evidence of
these stakeholders’ participation in the decisions by companies for peacebuilding. Therefore,
photos of the community correspond to an unnatural exercise within organizational
practices toward peace. In many cases, the community is aware of the captured photograph
and poses in front of the camera; in others, a community member is doing something,
although the exact action is not clear. Therefore, it is possible to emphasize that the
community becomes an object that expresses an indefatigable disposition to give and
receive efforts to construct a peace that guarantees their rights.

5.5 Academics
Academics were the second most representative group of social actors in post-conflict
images. Their representation is observed in 15 out of 121 photos. Their role is related to the
inclusion and participation of the Colombian people in post-conflict. They demand a more
significant generation of economic opportunities and reconciliation and coexistence between
the reinserted groups and the people. Universities disclose all photos that include academics
in their sustainability reports. The above is evidence of the commitment of higher education
institution to peacebuilding.
For example, the image on page 175 of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia (2017)
sustainability report represents a group of academics related to the field of law who are
promoting legal offices and conciliation centers as alternatives for a better and peaceful
future. These post-conflict social actors are represented in an inclusive and involved way in
the action, albeit generically and homogeneously. Also, their representation is given in a
direct and equal way concerning the observer, although distant. The possibility of
contributing to peacebuilding from academic spaces for orientation and conciliation is
highly essential. However, these actions could be strategies to communicate peace actions as
corresponding to social demands. The above most post-conflict related photos in
sustainability reports focus on presenting university events and installed capacity to
address social problems but do not reflect concrete actions that demonstrate the
participation of academics in this issue beyond their desks.

5.6 Political leaders

Political leaders represent the third most relevant actor among post-conflict social actors in
the images included in sustainability reports by companies in Colombia. Although they do
not occupy the top position in representation, their work is sufficiently essential owing to
their capacity to influence public policy construction. In this regard, images related to political
leaders constituted 8% of the total post-conflict images. However, the representation of their
actions is fundamental in peacebuilding. Likewise, the political leaders’ representation had Corporate
relevant nuances that account for the opposite perspectives and the context conditions. sustainability
The photo of Juan Manuel Santos Calder
on illustrates the representation of political
leaders with the highest visibility in the entire peace process (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia,
reports
2016, p. 270). In this image, Santos is depicted as an actor actively involved in post-conflict
construction. His inclusion is individual and specific, owing to his decisive role in the
signing of the peace agreements of Havana as president and supporter. His powerless,
indirect interaction and involved representation place him in a conference as a speaker.
According to the context of his image, it is possible to understand that represented actions
focus on presenting investment opportunities generated in Colombia to guarantee the
necessary conditions for security, reconciliation and coexistence and opportunities around
peace.
At the same time, the image of Álvaro Uribe Vélez presents a contrary and controversial
scenario against post-conflict and peace agreements (EAFIT University, 2016, p. 108). In this
shot, the former president is involved in the action and included specifically and
individually. Although his action is photographed far away, his representation is done in an
indirect and detached way. The plebiscite is the context in which his conference is located.
Therefore, it is possible to point out that his action socializes his opposition to the peace
process in a recognized university in the city of Medellín. Former president Uribe, now
senator, has been characterized as the main detractor of the Havana agreements and the
leader of a prominent political campaign carried out to reject the plebiscite, based on biased
discourses on “Castro-chavismo,” homosexuality and impunity.
Similarly, the struggle of the Colombian people for guarantees regarding truth, justice,
reparation and non-repetition have generated a scenario of opportunities around economic
conditions, security and reconciliation and coexistence. This setting has promoted a
legitimate space to represent corporate actions as desirable, adequate or appropriate within
the framework of Havana peace agreement. Therefore, any mention or image related to post-
conflict or peace has become a resource to impact or manipulate social perception through
visual strategies.
In this context, Colombia’s legitimacy management has taken a couple of action courses
to obtain, maintain or repair legitimacy through visual representation strategies. Post-
conflict images have been used to inform the public about companies’ activities concerning
their contribution to opportunities, security and reconciliation and coexistence. Along with
this, the management of social perception around business performance has also taken
place. Some post-conflict images refer to political leaders who openly declare themselves to
be opponents of the peace process. Thus, post-conflict representation strategies have also
focused on modifying society’s expectations to accommodate particular purposes.
Legitimation strategies are also present in how the actors involved in the conflict are
represented. Post-conflict visual representation occurs around communities, without clarifying
whether they are direct participants in the conflict. Examined representations show how
communities benefit from business programs, presenting them passively, as receivers or users
of business programs, or actively when they meet at occasional activities organized by
companies. Thus, the company shows itself as a generator of social “opportunities,” specifically
those directly or indirectly involved in the conflict. In addition, conferences on (post)conflict are
primarily represented by universities to promote commitment ideas on historical
reconstruction, post-conflict new meanings, reconciliation and coexistence.
The structural conditions that generated the conflict are still present in Colombia. Ulloa
and Coronado (2016, pp. 28-29) refer to issues such as the “unfinished process of state-
building, the absence of referents of national identity and the lack of integration of the
SAMPJ regions to a centralized political project”, “the agrarian question and the problem of the
concentration of property and land tenure” and to:
[. . .] the participation and the deficit of political representation of diverse social groups -classes,
political sectors, among others- in the State; the weak integration of the regions in the economic
and political dynamics of the nation [. . .] and institutional precariousness.
as the main factors explaining the above.
Post-conflict representation in Colombia has become a systemic strategy to legitimate the
peace process assumed by the national government. Business practices show an intimate
relationship between the purposes of the State and business objectives. In this sense,
sustainability reports related to peace become a mechanism of social control and
subordination that reproduce the existing power relations in the Colombian social order.
That is why our analysis also indicates evident corporate peace actions associated with
governmental tax incentives for the creation, encouragement and/or anchoring of
companies. Some practices are related to formal employment generation and integrating the
inclusive production chain in the territories.
Likewise, corporate activities are related to “opportunities” generation, i.e. employment
generation for participant parties in the conflict, or entrepreneurial projects investment. In
other words, some forms of exclusion of demobilized combatants are still present, as these
actors are neither presented nor stated as beneficiaries of corporate programs in the reports
studied. On the other hand, the emphasis of some companies on entrepreneurial projects
financing is only a way to disguise the search and expansion of clients or consumers of
banking financial products. Related to Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (Colombian Stock
Exchange), it is clear how much interest is put in achieving the peace process and post-
conflict success. This would ensure the arrival of greater foreign investment to the country,
showing how post-conflict benefits would be mainly allocated in the international financial
sector.
Post-conflict visualization in CSRs is one more strategy to gain legitimacy by disclosing
more social information by companies. The photos that account for companies’ social
actions reproduce patterns, silences and concealments and partisan behaviors. More than
representing the actions of companies concerning the social construction of peace, the
images depict how corporations wish to be seen by stakeholders. Hence, sustainability
reports serve as a mediation form between corporate values (aligned with those of the
government) and the groups and individuals who receive them from civil society. Thus, it is
argued that this type of information maintains and reproduces existing social power
relations, conflicts of interest and hegemonic values of the context. Besides, post-conflict
reporting has become the strategy per excellence to respond to government pressures and,
with it, to obtain tax incentives. Therefore, this practice has become desirable or usual in
response to the changing pressures of the context.
Indeed, adopting these visual forms clearly shows that accounting practices promote the
maintenance of the inherent interests of Colombian social, political, economic and
institutional systems. Consequently, this practice is neither neutral nor objective. On the
contrary, it has hidden the conflict and eliminated reinserted actors from the social
dimension. Accordingly, images build, sustain and legitimize political and economic
arrangements within the ideological and institutional framework supporting companies’
private interests. The period studied allows us to relate this corporate practice to the
interests of the government in office.
The political nature of the social construction of peace does not allow for neutrality or
objectivity. In this sense, post-conflict image disclosure reinforces the economic privileges of
capital instead of satisfying the social demands of people. In the Colombian context, Corporate
struggles have been generated between various pressing and competing groups for power, sustainability
with peace as a central issue for this purpose. In this scenario, the Colombian government
has favored the groups that have been necessary to maintain the status quo at the expense
reports
of other vulnerable social groups. Therefore, land redistribution, agro-diversity promotion,
the end of the conflict, drug trafficking, victims reparation, among others, are issues yet to
be resolved.

6. Conclusions
This paper examined the use of photographs in CSRs as a way to gain legitimacy in the
Colombian post-conflict scenario. In general, as stated before, this paper contributes in three
ways to the critical literature of visual studies: it deepens the view of the PE of accounting;
adds to the studies on legitimacy from CDA (Tregidga et al., 2007); and investigates the use
of images in sustainability reports.
Regarding legitimacy, this study has shown how companies use quantification or
narration to account for their social and environmental performance and their visual
representation to achieve or maintain their legitimacy in the context. Overall, this work has
contributed to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the use of visual
representations of the Colombian post-conflict era as a strategy to gain legitimacy in a
unique context where legitimacy is precarious. In that sense, images or visual
representations are used to show the adoption of social values in the organizational setting.
Simultaneously, the use of images is made in accordance with the sociopolitical situation,
that is, they are specific representations of the particular historical moment of the context.
Thus, the role given to visual tools in accounting reports in the studied case allows us to
assert that these are used as an essential mechanism to convey the interested construction of
a corporate image, apparently committed to improving the social conditions of the armed
conflict in Colombia, with the purpose of gaining legitimacy. Here, it is argued that visual
representations incorporate a rhetoric of persuasion to promote an idea of commitment to
the social construction of peace in Colombia and, thus, to obtain fiscal incentives.
Companies seek to give an account of their commitment to peace through the representation
of communities (victims, demobilized persons, children, etc.), and the generation of
opportunities, appealing to the reader’s emotiveness, social values or, as the scholars of
rhetoric would say (Aho, 1985; Higgins and Walker, 2012; Merkl-Davies and Koller, 2012), to
the pathos that surrounds organizational discourse and practice. In other words, after the peace
agreements in Colombia were regulated, corporations used their social disclosure practices to
extend an image as peacebuilders. Our contribution, then, lies in making evident the fact that
companies’ interests do not reside in the transformation of the social conditions, but rather in
social information disclosure strategies to face pressures and legitimize themselves.
From the PE perspective, studying the use of visual strategies has become essential not
only to understand why companies produce greater quantity and type of sustainability
information related to peace but also to reveal the ideological and social nature of their
visually represented practices, especially from CDA (Tregidga et al., 2007; Van Leeuwen,
2008). Here, it is essential to note that these types of visual forms have been studied as tools
that promote the maintenance of power and domination dynamics as a result of class and
gender hierarchy in organizational and governmental contexts (Tinker and Neimark, 1987;
Kyriacou, 2016; Dhanani, 2019). On the other hand, visual tools related to peace included in
social and environmental reporting have concrete implications in the Colombian social
context that account for its capture and the existing power imbalance (Soobaroyen and
Mahadeo, 2016). In Havana’s peace negotiations, this context has been immersed in tensions
SAMPJ and pressures by the political power struggling between acceptance and rejection of the
agreements. Although, in the end, the “No” vote won the plebiscite on the peace agreements
with the FARC-EP, the government in office at the time introduced such agreements into the
legal system, promoting the government–enterprise coalition as one of the alternatives to
move forward on the issue. As a result, the polarization between the two social groups
debating the agreements deepened, with political figures such as Juan Manuel Santos and
Álvaro Uribe Vélez as the leading representatives.
The use of photographs was essential to account for the programs developed by the
companies. Nevertheless, this practice included a visual rhetoric that has sought to persuade
and manage the maintenance of inherent interests in the Colombian social, economic,
political and institutional systems. Hence, these images have reproduced patterns of action,
silences and concealments that reveal much more how corporations want to be seen.
“Contributing” to the post-conflict has not only allowed companies to respond to
government pressures but also to gain legitimacy to society. Therefore, these images
socialize hegemonic values that seek to reproduce existing social power relations while
building, sustaining and legitimizing political and economic arrangements within the
institutional and ideological framework supporting companies’ private interests. It is
essential to highlight that before the peace agreements were incorporated into the
Colombian legal system most companies did not report actions aimed at the social
construction of peace. The above underlines that local factors have pressed companies to
modify their discursive practices, especially visual ones, to project a positive image of their
contribution to the generation of opportunities, security and reconciliation and coexistence,
and thus maintain their legitimacy (Soobaroyen and Mahadeo, 2016). Likewise, the response
to government calls for economic decentralization and socioeconomic and infrastructural
rehabilitation has allowed companies to obtain tax incentives by constructing new visual
and textual narratives aimed at convincing the government and society of their
commitment. However, this study provides empirical evidence on companies’ use of photos
in their reports to gain legitimacy. The disclosures immediately following the signing of the
peace agreement reflected a critical message that companies have been reshaping their
community support activities to meet government tax incentive requirements.
This article responds to the call by Tregidga et al. (2007) in regard to the use of CDA in
research studies on organizational and/or systemic legitimacy. Our work mainly deepens
the analysis on the construction of messages through social and environmental information,
the analysis of what is said, what is not said and how it is said. Within this analysis, how the
stakeholders and their companies’ relationships are represented in the business reports is
broadened. This study also contributes to such call by examining photographic messages
included in sustainability reports, thus expanding the literature from this approach (Tinker
and Neimark, 1987; Kyriacou, 2016; Ahn and Jacobs, 2018; Dhanani, 2019). Therefore, this
paper addressed how these images represent the relationship between companies and
diverse actors in the Colombian post-conflict. In this analysis, supported by the conceptual
and methodological proposal of Barthes (1986) and Van Leeuwen (2001, 2008), it was found
that images give an account of how power relations are constituted in Colombian society,
particularly in the construction of the post-conflict. To maintain legitimacy, companies
make use of images, on the one hand, of political leaders and, on the other, of communities.
What is said in these images speaks about how companies have been participating in the
definition of post-conflict. What is not said is in the underlying power relations that are
evident in the continued subordination of represented communities or the exaltation of
political leaders. This, as has been said, accounts for how the predominant sociopolitical
order is reproduced in the Colombian context by the use of social and environmental reports.
 Although this paper does not analyze linguistic messages about post-conflict in the images, Corporate
some words can be said. By using this type of images, companies are forced to describe or sustainability
explain the activities depicted. To this end, linguistic messages become a central issue since
they add meaning to images beyond the denotative message. The above relates mainly to how
reports
images, at first glance, do not account for the activities related to the actors in the conflict. In
other words, the depiction of communities does not guarantee that they are conflict victims, nor
indicates the type of program or activity being undertaken. Despite adding such explanations
or descriptions, the depiction of the communities is generally made through their
homogenization. Furthermore, the analysis of the main governmental and civil society textual
discourses on the post-conflict situation could be an essential exercise to account for the general
perceptions of the meanings around this issue. A post-conflict situation focused on forgiveness,
reconciliation, life protection, broad political participation, fair income redistribution and social
welfare must be the basis for peace social construction in Colombia.
Finally, it is necessary to say that new paths for research emerged from this work. First
of all, it is important to go deeper and investigate visual representation forms in developing
countries. This is so because – although they are perhaps the same types of visual images –
they respond to particular contexts with different ontologies and epistemologies, leading to
the exploration of theoretical frameworks that are also different, such as the epistemologies
of the South (Santos and Meneses, 2014; Meneses and Bidaseca, 2018). Second, according to
Tregidga et al. (2007), it remains necessary to examine how social and environmental
information, and with it its visual representations, is received by the various social actors. In
short, it would be important to explore the visual representations that are managed by
actors other than companies through their counter-accounts or counter-discourses (Gray
et al., 2014a; Tregidga, 2017; Quinche-Martín and Cabrera-Narv
aez, 2020), which would
allow observing contrasting visions of the representation of social reality.

Notes
1. It should be clarified that the GRI itself has issued a document linking each SDG to its standards
(www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/Mapping%20SDGs-GRI-Update%20March.pdf). Likewise,
the reports of the companies studied explicitly mention their compliance with SDGs based on the
information disclosed, especially in regard to Objective 16.
2. Legitimacy is defined as “A condition or status which exists when an entity’s value system is
congruent with the value system of the larger social system of which the entity is a part. When a
disparity, actual or potential, exists between the two value systems, there is a threat to the
entity’s legitimacy” (Lindblom, 2010, p. 52).

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Further reading
Brown, J. and Dillard, J. (2017), “Sustainability is the new critical?”, in Roslender, R. (Ed.), The Routledge
Companion to Critical Accounting, Routledge, London, pp. 427-441.
Gray, R., Adams, C. and Owen, D. (2017), “Social and environmental accounting”, in Roslender, R. (Ed.),
The Routledge Companion to Critical Accounting, Routledge, London, pp. 243-259.

Corresponding author
Fabi
an Leonardo Quinche-Martín can be contacted at: flquinchem@libertadores.edu.co

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