Image Economy and Corporate Hypocrisy

Image Economy and Corporate Hypocrisy examines the structural, cultural, and communicative dimensions of corporate hypocrisy in contemporary capitalism. Moving beyond managerial perspectives, it offers a theoretically rigorous account of how organizations construct ethical narratives while enacting contradictory practices. It provides a systematic framework for analyzing hypocrisy in its moral, behavioral, and symbolic forms, and situates them within broader debates on legitimacy, accountability, and the image economy. It introduces conceptual distinctions between strategic flexibility and ethical incoherence, explores the mechanisms of greenwashing and purpose-washing and advances methodological tools for detecting organizational inconsistency, including discourse analysis, critical accounting, and algorithmic approaches. Integrating theory with empirical illustrations, this book contributes original insights into the tensions between rhetoric and reality that define modern corporate responsibility. This book is of value to researchers, scholars, and academics in business ethics, organizational studies, communication, and sustainability. It is also of value to scholars in sociology, political economy, and cultural studies seeking to understand the theoretical foundations and societal consequences of corporate hypocrisy in the digital age.