Entegre Faaliyet Raporlarındaki Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Mesajlarının ESG Performansları ile Uyumunun Ölçülmesi: Bir İçerik Analizi

Onur Özevin

doi:10.37880/cumuiibf.1751593

EN TR

Measuring the Alignment of Chairman's Messages in Integrated Annual Reports with ESG Performance: A Content Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to measure the alignment and relationship between the sustainability-themed rhetoric in the Chairman messages within companies' integrated annual reports and their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performances. The primary objective is to reveal the extent to which the qualitative nature of chairman messages reflects actual ESG performance. Employing a mixed-methods design, the research analyzed chairman messages from the 2023 integrated annual reports of 28 companies listed on the BIST 30 index using qualitative content analysis. The thematic densities obtained from the content analysis were then compared with the companies' 2023 ESG scores, sourced from the LSEG (Refinitiv) database, using correlation and regression analyses. According to the content analysis results, frequently recurring words in chairman messages included "global," "sustainability," "value," and "sustainable," indicating the strategic importance companies place on sustainability in their high-level communications. Quantitative analyses revealed no statistically significant relationship between the total frequency of sustainability-themed rhetoric in YKB messages and the companies' ESG scores. This finding supports theories in the literature such as "discourse-performance gap" and "rating divergence." The results can be interpreted within the framework of Impression Management Theory, suggesting that chairman messages may be used by companies as an effort to create a positive public image, and that ESG scores does not always directly reflect on CEO messages. The study's main contribution is being one of the first works to examine the relationship between sustainability rhetoric in chairman messages within integrated reports and companies' ESG scores specifically for companies in the Turkish companies, providing empirical evidence on the potential gap between discourse and performance.

Keywords

Entegre Faaliyet Raporlarındaki Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Mesajlarının ESG Performansları ile Uyumunun Ölçülmesi: Bir İçerik Analizi

Öz

Bu çalışma, şirketlerin entegre faaliyet raporlarındaki Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı (YKB) mesajlarının sürdürülebilirlik temalı söylemleri ile şirketlerin ESG (Çevresel, Sosyal ve Yönetişim) performansları arasındaki uyumu ve ilişkiyi ölçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Temel hedef, YKB mesajlarındaki söylemlerin niteliğinin fiili ESG performansına ne ölçüde yansıdığını ortaya koymaktır. Karma yöntem deseni kullanılan araştırmada, Borsa İstanbul BİST 30 endeksinde yer alan 28 şirketin 2023 yılı entegre faaliyet raporlarındaki YKB mesajları nitel içerik analizi yöntemi ile incelenmiştir. İçerik analizinden elde edilen tematik yoğunluklar, şirketlerin LSEG (Refinitiv) veri tabanından alınan 2023 yılı ESG skorları ile korelasyon ve regresyon analizleri kullanılarak karşılaştırılmıştır. İçerik analizi sonuçlarına göre, YKB mesajlarında "küresel", "sürdürülebilirlik", "değer" ve "sürdürülebilir" gibi kelimeler en sık tekrarlanmıştır, bu da şirketlerin üst düzey iletişimlerinde sürdürülebilirlik kavramına stratejik önem verdiğini göstermektedir. Nicel analizler, YKB mesajlarındaki ESG temalı söylemlerin yoğunluğu ile şirketlerin ESG skorları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmadığını ortaya koymuştur. Bu sonuç, literatürdeki "söylem-eylem tutarsızlığı" ve "derecelendirme çelişkisi" gibi teorileri desteklemektedir. Sonuçlar YKB mesajlarının İzlenim Yönetimi Teorisi kapsamında, şirketlerin kamuoyunda olumlu bir imaj oluşturma çabası olarak kullanılabileceğini ve ESG skorlarının YKB mesajlarına doğrudan yansımadığı şeklinde yorumlanabilir. Çalışmanın temel katkısı, Türkiye’deki şirketlerin entegre raporlardaki YKB mesajlarının sürdürülebilirlik söylemleri ile şirketlerin ESG skorları arasındaki ilişkiyi inceleyen ilk çalışmalardan biri olması ve söylem ile performans arasındaki potansiyel boşluğa dair ampirik kanıtlar sunmasıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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Details

Primary Language

Turkish

Subjects

Business Administration

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Onur Özevin ^*
0000-0002-1347-5027
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

October 22, 2025

Publication Date

October 29, 2025

Submission Date

July 26, 2025

Acceptance Date

October 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 26 Number: 4

DOI

https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1751593

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA79WG35PE

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Özevin, O. (2025). Entegre Faaliyet Raporlarındaki Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Mesajlarının ESG Performansları ile Uyumunun Ölçülmesi: Bir İçerik Analizi. Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İktisadi Ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 26(4), 699-714. https://doi.org/10.37880/cumuiibf.1751593