Exploring impression management through eye-tracking: A study on the influence of photographs in financial reporting

The objective of financial reporting is to provide decision-useful information for a wide range of existing and potential stakeholders. However, the lack of regulation regarding the use of visual imagery may enable companies to engage in impression management and subtly influence the reader’s judgments through careful selection of images and how they obfuscate or clarify information. This study utilizes eye-tracking technology to experimentally examine how non-explanatory photographs influence the performance judgments of non-professional investors comprising business students and auditors. Participants were exposed to an excerpt of the management summary of a fictitious company’s annual report. The findings suggest while a non-explanatory photograph attracts attention in a text-image combination, the information search process and performance-related judgments are free of influences from the photograph. This implies other photographic attributes, such as triggering emotional influences or providing explanatory information, may be more relevant for impression management in influencing judgments over attentional influences.