How do contemporary political forces shape what companies say about themselves?

In a new paper, Echoes of Right-Wing Populism in Annual Reports of Polish Listed State-Controlled Companies, published in Accounting in Europe, we explore how right-wing populism has leaked into corporate narrative disclosures in a European context.

 Drawing on the populist syndrome model, the study analyses annual reports of Poland’s largest listed state-controlled companies before and after 2015, when a right-wing populist party came to power. We identify four recurring narrative threads that subtly and selectively echo populist rhetoric. We demonstrate that these incremental narrative elements resonate with both the core ideological features of populism and its local right-wing characteristics.

 Our findings suggest that corporate disclosures are not neutral reflections of reality. Instead, they serve as strategic responses to political and institutional pressures, enabling companies closely tied to the state to position themselves as “insiders”. By mobilising the concept of corporate populism, the paper contributes to accounting research on narratives, politics, and the role of reporting in polarised societies. The study also offers insights for researchers and practitioners interested in how accounting practices evolve under populist rule, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.

 Łada, M., Kozarkiewicz, A., Haslam, J., & Łazarowicz, E. (2026). Echoes of Right-Wing Populism in Annual Reports of Polish Listed State-Controlled Companies. Accounting in Europe, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449480.2026.2623965 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17449480.2026.2623965