ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze the relevant factors in determining credit rating agency (CRA) rating actions for international maritime companies. The public disclosures regarding the credit rating actions within annual reports and the credit rating agencies' websites are analyzed by applying a content analysis for the period 2000-2017. The results of the content analysis indicate that the factor of "market conditions" has been disclosed as the main credit rating action determinant by the CRAs. This finding is in line with the argument that due to the high costs of obtaining the new and confidential information, CRAs tend to rely solely on Business and Management Horizons ISSN 2326-0297 2017 the market risk in most rating actions, rather than company-specific risk. Moreover, we determine that, after the 2008 financial crisis, CRA disclosures on company specific factors decrease dramatically. Furthermore, opacity prevails in observations regarding company-specific factors as "financial profile" and "corporate business profile".

This study aims to analyze the compliance of shipping companies' financial and non-financial reports with the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) integrated reporting framework. Integrated reports, annual reports, sustainability reports, and corporate social responsibility reports of international shipping companies issued and published between the years 2010-2018 were used as data. According to literature and the IIRC framework dimensions, content analysis and statistical tests were applied to create scores that show the compliance degree of the reports and companies. Consequently, the compliance score of the shipping companies shows a continuous rise within the sample period. The effect of the integrated reporting framework was examined by comparing the results before and after framework periods. Results show that the compliance scores of companies were significantly higher after the framework period.

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