Abstract
Purpose
As global businesses increasingly focus on AI governance, more companies have communicated their commitment to ethical AI practices through corporate AI ethics statements. Drawing on the legitimacy framework, this study investigates how these statements serve as mechanisms to align organizational AI practices with stakeholder expectations, establish ethical benchmarks, and deploy strategic legitimation cues.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 2024 Fortune Global 500 and Forbes AI 50 companies' AI ethics statements.
Findings
Findings reveal that explainability, safety, and justice are widely recognized as key ethical AI standards in corporate AI ethics statements. The statements frequently address customers and employees as primary stakeholders, emphasizing explainability and privacy for customers and safety, explainability, and accountability for employees. Substantive cues are more prevalent than symbolic cues in legitimizing these ethical AI standards.
Originality/value
This study provides an evidence-based legitimacy framework for communicating corporate AI ethics, underscoring the need to align corporate AI practices with universal AI ethics and stakeholder expectations to build stakeholder trust. It offers valuable insights for corporate management and communication professionals for developing and evaluating corporate AI ethics statements.
© Emerald Publishing Limited
As global businesses increasingly focus on AI governance, more companies have communicated their commitment to ethical AI practices through corporate AI ethics statements. Drawing on the legitimacy framework, this study investigates how these statements serve as mechanisms to align organizational AI practices with stakeholder expectations, establish ethical benchmarks, and deploy strategic legitimation cues.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 2024 Fortune Global 500 and Forbes AI 50 companies' AI ethics statements.
Findings
Findings reveal that explainability, safety, and justice are widely recognized as key ethical AI standards in corporate AI ethics statements. The statements frequently address customers and employees as primary stakeholders, emphasizing explainability and privacy for customers and safety, explainability, and accountability for employees. Substantive cues are more prevalent than symbolic cues in legitimizing these ethical AI standards.
Originality/value
This study provides an evidence-based legitimacy framework for communicating corporate AI ethics, underscoring the need to align corporate AI practices with universal AI ethics and stakeholder expectations to build stakeholder trust. It offers valuable insights for corporate management and communication professionals for developing and evaluating corporate AI ethics statements.
© Emerald Publishing Limited
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 21-36 |
| Journal | Corporate Communications |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Online published | 22 Dec 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Jan 2026 |
Research Keywords
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- AI ethics
- Ethics statements
- Legitimacy
- Corporate communications
- Stakeholder management
Publisher's Copyright Statement
- COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited. This AAM is provided for your own personal use only. It may not be used for resale, reprinting, systematic distribution, emailing, or for any other commercial purpose without the permission of the publisher. Zhang J, Ki E, & Cai Q (2025). Legitimizing AI: Ethical AI in corporate ethics statements. Corporate Communications: An International Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-07-2025-0173
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