A Comparative Study of Risk Discourse in Apple and Microsoft from the Perspective of Proximization Theory 

Zhang Jiahui

School of English Studies, Xi’an International Studies University，Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China 710000;

Abstract: Corporate annual reports no longer only disclose financial information; they also help companies present risks and define themselves. This study uses Proximization Theory to compare how Apple and Microsoft construct risk in the Risk Factors sections of their 2025 annual reports, focusing on spatial, temporal, and axiological dimensions. The comparison does not point to one single logic. Two different patterns appear. Apple tells a closed-system defense story. In this story, the Company and its key assets are shown as things that need protection. Outside threats are the worry. Microsoft tells an open-system stewardship story. This story links changing risks to the need to keep trust. Trust must be maintained across a wide digital world. The findings also show that risk talk does more than describe danger. It helps build a corporate identity. It helps strategic choices look acceptable. It helps push blame away from the company. The study brings Proximization Theory into corporate risk communication. It shows the theory is useful here, not only in political or crisis talk.

Key words: Proximization Theory, Corporate Risk Discourse, Apple, Microsoft

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