ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the hierarchical structure and multimodality of CSR reports and provides some cross-cultural insights into how different cultures deal with the genre complexity of CSR reports. The first section provides an overview of the hierarchical organization of the CSR report, which includes different levels such as block, part-genre, main report, macro-move, move and step. The second section focuses on the functions of the part-genres (e.g., statement of decision-maker, table of contents, auditor’s reports) in the CSR report and examines how they vary in different languages. The third section investigates two macro sections of the main report: Self-presenting section and performance-reporting section. After addressing the hierarchical structure, the fourth section deals with the multimodality of the genre, analyzing in particular the organizational functions of lay-out units such as diagrams and tables. Cross-cultural variations in terms of hierarchical structure and multimodality are summed up in the final section.
