公司战略激进度与信用评级——基于软信息视角的分析

Business Strategy and Credit Rating:Analysis from the Perspective of Soft Information

基于2008~2018年发行公司债的A股上市公司样本,本文研究公司战略是否影响信用评级决策。研究结果表明,公司战略越激进,其主体信用评级越低;公司战略激进度通过经营风险和代理风险中介影响信用评级;公司战略信息是私有信息,主要通过实地调研、现场访谈等私有渠道被信用评级机构获取。本文从软信息视角拓展了信用评级影响因素的研究,也验证了信用评级机构的信息中介功能。

Based on the sample of A-share listed companies that have issued corporate bonds from 2008 to 2018,this study investigates business strategy as a determinant of credit rating.The empirical results show that companies with greater prospector-like characteristics are more likely to get a lower credit rating.We also find that operational risk and agency risk are two paths to mediate the relationship between business strategy and credit rating.In addition,we provide evidence that business strategy is private information which is mainly obtained through private channels like field research and face-to-face interviews.This study adds the literature on the factors of credit rating decision from the perspective of soft information,and verifies the informational role played by credit rating agencies.