National champion under pressure: A discourse analysis of Gazprom’s identity, legitimacy and strategic adaptation to western economic statecraft, 2004–2025
Journal: Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Year: 2026

Sanctions and economic statecraft create uncertainty and strategic constraints for MNEs. While prior research has examined macroeconomic effects and the adjustment of primarily non-targeted Western firms, how sanctioned firms publicly frame economic statecraft and navigate a prolonged constrained environment remains underexplored, particularly so for non-Western firms. To address this gap, this thesis uses a narrative-informed CDA to examine Gaz-prom’s organisational discourse as Russia’s state-