Emerging Port Authority communication strategies: Assessing the determinants of disclosure in the annual report

Abstract

Following the profound environmental changes and the growing complexity of public–private interactions in transport chains, new managerial and governance practices have been introduced by Port Authorities (PAs) in many countries. The redesigning of governance mechanisms deeply transformed both the content and formulation process of PA strategies, in conformity with a more managerial orientation and a private-sector focus.Indeed, leading PAs pursued aggressive growth strategies aiming at exploiting business opportunities and expanding their international reputation and visibility, and reinforced their relationships with those stakeholders which may deeply affect the ultimate success of the port. The achievement of such objectives, requiring a large amount of resources, often needs the adoption of innovative forms of communications in terms of new media and disclosed contents.Focusing on PA disclosed topics, and performing a content analysis on the annual reports of 38 sampled PAs, this paper addresses the emerging relevance of disclosure in PAs and aims to: i) analyze the content of corporate communication; ii) measure the innovativeness of the disclosure; and iii) investigate its potential determinants. The empirical findings provide insightful responses for achieving a deeper understanding of the reasons triggering public institutions to innovate their communication to public and private stakeholders.