Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime Affairs
Specialization
Ph.D (Maritime Affairs)
Campus
Malmö, Sweden
Country
Greece
First Advisor
Maximo Q. Mejia
Second Advisor
Aspasia Pastra
Abstract
Shipping has always been associated with worldwide socioeconomic advancement, and it continues to be responsible for transporting 80% of all international trade. The shipping industry is undoubtedly one of the most globalized, and as such, it is governed by a comprehensive and dynamic regulatory framework that prioritizes the preservation of the maritime and coastal environment, the safety and security of the crew members and the vessels as primary company assets, and the proper conduct of all shipping operations. Nevertheless, there are frequently significant barriers to the adoption of practices allowing for the sustainable development of the shipping industry, a continuous effort led by the International Maritime Organization and aligned with the United Nations' Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Shipping companies, key actors and active stakeholders of the maritime industry, have responded by actively integrating various dimensions of sustainable development into its core business processes and control mechanisms. The concept of sustainable development in the commercial shipping industry serves as a unifying theme for the chapters and publications comprising the corpus of this study.
The research traces and explores shipping business performance, both financial and non- financial, as well as good governance, as fundamental elements of sustainable
development. The research provides evidence leading to the conclusion that corporate governance has a positive impact on the financial performance of public shipping companies. More specifically, it concludes that various characteristics of the Board of Directors, as the main internal control mechanism of corporate governance (CEO duality, Gender diversity, National diversity, Founding family control, Board independence, Age), have positively influenced the financial performance of shipping companies during the period 2012–2021. Furthermore, the research explores the multidimensional non-financial performance of an extensive sample indicative of the global fleet. The key findings are based on secondary empirical non-financial data gathered through the BIMCO Shipping KPI System databases, extracted and analyzed for the first time for the unique purposes of this research by the author. Various relationships are established regarding the various types of non-financial business performance of the global fleet at aggregated international level, presenting insights into the evolution of the performance of the global fleet. The study confirms the necessity for an industry-wide adoption of overall business performance measurement systems, adding to the discourse for the adoption of sustainable practices and good governance in the maritime industry, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals of UN Agenda 2030 and the sustainable development strategy of the IMO.