強制性財務預測揭露制度已實施十多年，惟財務預測品質不佳、管理當局刻意操縱財務預測以影響股價等問題遲遲無法解決，致金管會乃決定自2005起廢止舊制，改採自願性財務預測揭露制度。本次改革除符合國際做法之外，並期望能達到降低公司財務預測成本、提高預測準確度，以及健全預測資訊公開之環境。 2005年為實施自願性財務預測揭露制度之第一個年度，當年上市（櫃）公司中，只有約6%的公司自願公開其財務預測。本研究認為，對投資人而言，財務預測既為有用資訊，為何願意公開財務預測的公司卻如此少呢？故本研究欲辨認左右公司是否公開財務預測行為之因素。 本研究設立七項與管理當局自願性揭露財務預測有關之決定因素─內部人持股比率、資本結構、資金需求、經營績效、盈餘波動性、權益資金成本，以及外資持股率，並以公司規模、產業、負債對權益比率為控制變數。研究樣本為2005年之上市(櫃)公司，將其分成兩組，ㄧ組為當年度自願揭露財務預測之公司，另ㄧ組則為當年度未曾揭露財務預測之公司，運用logit進行迴歸分析。 實證分析結果顯示，揭露與不揭露財務預測公司之主要不同特質，在於：公司過去經營績效之好壞及外資對公司之持股比率。過去經營績效較佳之公司，其主動揭露財務預測資訊給外界之機率較高；外資持股比率越高之公司，其主動揭露財務預測給外界之機率較高。 / This study examines the factors that affect managers to disclosure financial forecasts. Seven potential factors were compared for a sample of firms that reported forecasts and another sample of firms that did not release this information. The seven factors are: (1) the proportion of inside ownership, (2) capital structure, (3) the demand for external finance, (4) the business performance, (5) earnings volatility, (6) the cost of equity capital, (7) the proportion of foreign ownership. There are three control variables, including size, industry and the ratio of debt to equity. The findings report that the better the past business performance is, the more the probability that the manager will voluntarily disclose financial forecast is. The findings also report that the higher the proportion of foreign ownership is, the more willing the manager is to voluntarily disclose financial forecast.

The survival of organizations is dependent upon their legitimacy since legitimacy provides them with access to valuable resources. Organizations do not possess legitimacy, but rather it is ascribed to them by the society they are in when their actions meet societal expectations. Fulfillment of these societal expectations requires the moral and practical obligations of organizations which we call Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To show their CSR performance, organizations have increasingly adopted the practice of CSR reporting. In CSR reporting, organizations are expected by their stakeholders to disclose both positive and negative aspects. Although disclosing negative aspects can pose a threat to organization’s legitimacy, a third party reporting them may cause more severe damages to the legitimacy of the organization. Therefore, organizations are motivated to legitimize their negative aspects by using legitimation strategies. Using the typology of Coombs and Holladay (1996), in combination with the legitimation strategies by Hahn and Lülfs (2014) as our frameworks, and the non-financial reports of the top ten German chemical companies as our illustrative cases, we investigate and interpret the choice of legitimation strategies used by organizations to report different types of negative aspects in CSR reports. Our findings show that there is a clear pattern in the use of corrective action as a legitimation strategy for all types of negative aspects. Furthermore, we identified instances, where a new type of legitimation strategy, which we called shifting blame legitimation strategy was used. We interpreted our findings using analytical reasoning and theoretical framework such as the concept of symbolic and substantive approach to interpret our findings. Based on the findings, we concluded that the dominant pattern identified falls under the substantive approach, theoretically known for helping companies retain their legitimacy.

Cette thèse vise à analyser les pratiques des entreprises françaises en matière d'offre d'information volontaire par Internet. Nous étudions dans un premier temps les déterminants de la stratégie de communication par voie électronique en fonction de la gouvernance des entreprises. Les résultats prouvent que l'offre d'information s'accroît lorsque la propriété de l'entreprise est plus dispersée. De plus, les entreprises à directoire et à conseil de surveillance diffusent moins d'informations sur leur site que celles dotées d'un conseil d'administration. Pour ces dernières, le cumul des fonctions de président et de directeur général a une influence négative sur l'offre d'information en ligne. D'ailleurs, la création des comités de surveillance au sein du conseil permet d'améliorer la transparence de l'information. Dans un deuxième temps, nous analysons l'influence de la publication d'information volontaire par Internet sur le marché financier français. Les résultats montrent l'existence d'un lien négatif entre la publication d'information en ligne et la fourchette de prix. Nous observons également qu'un niveau plus élevé de transparence par voie électronique réduit la volatilité des titres. Ces résultats ont pour signification économique que les entreprises peuvent réduire le degré d'asymétrie d'information et les risques sur les marchés financiers en renforçant la diffusion d'information en ligne. Dans un troisième temps, nous étudions la « tonalité » des publications financières trimestrielles pour avoir une vision plus complète des pratiques de communication par Internet. Nos résultats montrent d'abord que le degré d'optimisme d'une annonce financière s'avère être un bon indicateur de la performance future de l'entreprise. En outre, les annonces présentées sous un angle favorable conduisent les investisseurs à former de meilleures anticipations sur la valeur de l'entreprise. / The objective of this doctoral research is to study Internet-based disclosure practices in France. First, we examine the impact of corporate governance on Internet-based disclosure strategy. The results indicate that firms with more dispersed ownership disclose more information on the Internet; companies with a two-tier board system disseminate less information on their website than firms with a one-tier board; for companies in the one-tier system, we found that the level of Internet-based disclosure is negatively related to CEO-Chairman duality. Moreover, the creation of monitoring committees inside the board can improve online information transparency. Second, we examine the economic impact of Internet-based disclosure in the French capital market. The results show a negative relation between the amount of discretionary information published via Internet and the relative spread. We also observe that enhanced Internet-based disclosure can reduce the stock's volatility. These results indicate that quoted companies can reduce information asymmetry and investor uncertainty by enhancing information transparency via Internet. Third, we study the tone of financial announcements in order to complete our analysis of discretionary disclosure. Results from a content analysis show that the level of optimism in the tone of a financial announcement can be an indicator of future firm performance. Moreover, framing the financial announcement in a more optimistic angle causes investors to think positively about the future outlook of a firm.

Sveriges kommuner startar allt fler företag. Tillsammans omsätter dessa företag sammanlagt 200 miljarder kronor och utgör en viktig del av en kommuns ekonomi. En av de branscher där det finns flest kommunägda bolag är elbranschen, en bransch som sedan avregleringen på 90-talet förändrats på det sättet att ett kommunalt elbolag inte längre kan vara säkra att invånarna i deras kommun väljer dem som elleverantör. Detta har inneburit att de kommunala elbolagenmåste hitta strategier för att locka kunder. Kommunikation är grundläggande för att ett bolag ska nå framgång. Ett av de viktigaste sätten att kommunicera med sina intressenter är att göra det genom sin årsredovisning och här är det främst de frivilliga upplysningarna som kan användas till detta, då de finansiella upplysningarnas utformning är reglerade i Årsredovisningslagen. De frivilliga upplysningarna har ökat i omfattning på senare år och används numera allt oftare som ett kommunikationsverktyg mot bland annat bolagens kunder och därför är detta intressant att studera. Den här uppsatsen har därför som syfte att undersöka på vilket sätt kommunala elbolag kommunicerar genom frivilliga upplysningar i sin årsredovisning och hur det har förändrats under perioden 2008-2017.Den metod som användes för att analysera materialet var en innehållsanalys. Den ansågs som lämplig då den brukar användas i forskning för analysera innehållet av dokument och syftar till att ta fram betydelsen av en text och det underliggande som författaren vill få sagt med sin text. En bildanalys användes också som komplement till innehållsanalysen. Detta för att en bildanalys kan komplettera helhetsbilden och eftersom bilder har blivit en integrerad del i årsredovisningar. De två kommunala elbolag som valdes för studien var Kungälv Energi och Karlstads Energi, vilka är bolag som är väl etablerade bland invånarna i respektive kommun och vars årsredovisningar innehåller frivilliga upplysningar. Resultaten visar att bolagen främst använder sina frivilliga upplysningar till att redogöra förårets händelser och för att upprätthålla sin image och legitimitet som bolag. Detta har inte förändrats under den här undersökningsperioden, utan det som främst har förändrats är att de frivilliga upplysningarna blivit mer informationsrika, att bolagen använder sig mer av bilder i sin kommunikation och att deras årsredovisningar har blivit mer lättolkade och intresseväckande. Avslutningsvis kommer vi fram till att det inte skiljer speciellt mycket mellan de kommunala och privata bolagens sätt att kommunicera genom de frivilliga upplysningarna. / The number of Swedish public owned companies are increasing. Altogether these companies have a revenue of 200 billion Swedish crowns and play an important role for the public sector. The electric market has one of the highest number of public sector owned companies. Since the deregulation in the 90’s, the market has changed a lot for the public owned electric companies, who can no longer count that the citizens in their town will choose them as their electricity provider. Therefore the public owned companies have to find new strategies to make them more attractive. Communication is a key point in succeeding. One of the most important ways to communicate with its stakeholders is through the annual report, where the voluntary disclosures are to most useful section since it is not regulated like the financial disclosures. The voluntary disclosure is also more extensive nowadays and more used as a communication tool towards the customers, therefore it is interesting to study. The aim with the study is to investigate in which way public owned electric companies are communicating through their voluntary disclosure and how it has changed through the period 2008-2017.The study is written in Swedish and the method that has been used for analyzing the material is a content analysis. It was found suitable since it is commonly used when analyzing documents and aims to produce the meaning of a text and the underlying meaning in the text that the author wants to say with the text. An image analysis has also been used as a compliment as it could supplement the overall picture and because images have become an integral part of annual reports. The two public owned companies that were selected for the study were Kungälv Energi and Karlstads Energi, which are companies that are well established among the inhabitants of each municipality and whose annual reports contain voluntary disclosure. The results show that the companies mainly use their voluntary disclosure to account for the events of the year and to maintain their image and legitimacy as a company. This has not changed during the chosen period, but what has mainly changed is that the voluntary disclosure has become more informative, that the companies use more images in their communication and that their annual reports have become more easily interpreted and interesting. In conclusion there is not much difference between the public owned and the private companies way of communicating through the voluntary disclosure.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-07-01T14:03:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LeandroLumbieri.pdf: 886141 bytes, checksum: 6ee7275b847a2ca4bd72e6a1cbb6d145 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-01T14:03:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LeandroLumbieri.pdf: 886141 bytes, checksum: 6ee7275b847a2ca4bd72e6a1cbb6d145 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Nenhuma / Esta dissertação teve por objetivo verificar a relação entre o nível de evidenciação de informações sobre o capital humano e a percepção de valor das empresas listadas na BM&FBOVESPA. O estudo foi conduzido à luz de duas teorias: agência e custo do proprietário. A teoria de agência pressupõe que a assimetria de informação entre as partes envolvidas numa relação contratual estabeleceria custos de agência. Essa perspectiva aponta a redução da assimetria através da evidenciação de informação como mecanismo de redução dos custos de agência. Em outra perspectiva, a teoria dos custos dos proprietários, ressalta que uma maior evidenciação poderia gerar custos para os proprietários, tais como: perda de mercado, à medida que torna pública as informações de caráter estratégico, possibilitando aos concorrentes reformularem suas estratégias e reconquistarem mercado, bem como os próprios custos de elaboração e divulgação destas informações. Considerando a revisão de literatura empírica realizada, este estudo difere dos demais, pois não foi encontrado nenhum estudo no Brasil referente ao nível de evidenciação do capital humano e sua percepção de valor pelo mercado. Também o presente estudo difere de qualquer pesquisa existente pelo fato de utilizar um novo índice de empresas da BM&FBOVESPA, que foi lançado em 02 de maio de 2011, denominado BRASIL AMPLO, com 153 papéis, com índice de negociabilidade de 99%, compondo o universo desta pesquisa. Desta população, foram selecionadas 21 empresas que disponibilizaram os relatórios anuais em suas páginas eletrônicas, no período de 2004 a 2010. O que resultou no total de 147 relatórios anuais analisados. A construção do nível de evidenciação dos recursos intangíveis de capital humano foi desenvolvida com base no modelo proposto por Macagnan (2005). A técnica de análise utilizada foi a de regressão linear múltipla com dados em painel. O principal resultado rejeita a hipótese de uma relação direta entre o nível de evidenciação voluntária do capital humano e a percepção de valor das empresas. O que confirma os pressupostos da teoria dos custos dos proprietários, em que uma maior evidenciação voluntária de informações representaria custos aos proprietários. Destaca-se, como contribuição para estudos futuros sobre nível de evidenciação de capital humano, a análise da importância deste capital para cada setor. Isso porque a percepção de valor do capital humano pode variar segundo o setor. / This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between the level of disclosure of information on human capital and the value perception of the companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA. The study was conducted under the light of the agency theory, which indicates that in an inefficient market, due to the informational asymmetry and greater disclosure would reduce the agency costs. In another perspective, the theory of the cost of the owners, points out that greater disclosure could generate costs for owners. Costs such as loss of market share, as the strategic information becomes public, allowing competing companies reformulate their strategy and conquer markets. The present study differs from any existing research because it uses a new index of BM&FBOVESPA companies which was released on May 2, 2011, called BRASIL AMPLO, with 153 papers with negotiability index of 99%, apart from the fact of not having found any study in Brazil regarding the level of disclosure of human capital and his perception of the market. The method driven by research is the deductive and to meet the goals proposed in this study must be carried out using descriptive research, this research has a quantitative nature and is classified as a documentary research. The sample consists of 21 companies in the period 2004 to 2010, the annual reports were collected from its websites. The construction of the level of disclosure of intangible resources of human capital was developed based on the model proposed by Macagnan (2005). The analysis techniques used were multiple linear regression with panel data.The main result rejects the hypothesis of a direct relationship between the level of voluntary disclosure of human capital and perceived value of companies. This confirms the assumptions of the theory of costs where owners of greater voluntary disclosure of information would cost to owners. Stands out as a contribution to future studies on level of disclosure of human capital, the analysis of the importance of capital for each sector. This is because the perceived value of human capital may vary according to sector.

Submitted by Fabricia Fialho Reginato (fabriciar) on 2015-07-03T01:17:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FernandoFontana.pdf: 578681 bytes, checksum: da3b83c9232b1611e07e3a9c58e8b1e6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-03T01:17:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FernandoFontana.pdf: 578681 bytes, checksum: da3b83c9232b1611e07e3a9c58e8b1e6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-04-11 / Nenhuma / O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar os fatores explicativos do nível de evidenciação voluntária de informações sobre recursos intangíveis nas empresas listadas na BM&FBovespa. Partindo do pressuposto de ineficiência de mercado; pela existência de assimetria informacional entre gestores e acionistas/investidores, a Teoria da Agência indica que a evidenciação poderia implicar em redução de custos de agência. De outra parte a Teoria do Custo dos Proprietários fundamenta que evidenciar informações geraria custo para a empresa. A justificativa da investigação ampara-se no fato de que mesmo com a grande quantidade de estudos encontrados sobre evidenciação de informações, no âmbito internacional ainda é escasso o número de estudos sobre o nível de evidenciação de informações sobre recursos intangíveis e, no âmbito nacional não foi encontrado nenhum estudo. A escolha da informação sobre recursos intangíveis configurou-se pelo reconhecimento de que os mesmos diferenciam o potencial competitivo de uma organização empresarial e a evidenciação deste tipo de informação poderia afetar o valor da empresa. Trata-se de um estudo explicativo, com abordagem de evidencias qualitativa e quantitativa. A amostra foi composta por 29 empresas. O documento analisado foi o relatório anual. Realizou-se sua coleta por meio de download nos websites das empresas, correspondente ao período de 2005 a 2009. O nível de evidenciação de informações sobre recursos intangíveis foi mensurado pela análise de conteúdo dos relatórios anuais, utilizando-se indicadores e, posteriormente, por índices, segundo o modelo de Macagnan (2005). A técnica de análise utilizada foi de regressão linear múltipla com dados em painel. Os principais resultados são que não se rejeitam as hipóteses: tamanho, endividamento, liquidez, preço da ação dividido pelo seu valor contábil e tempo de registro na CVM, num nível de significância de 1%, como fatores explicativos do nível de evidenciação de informações sobre recursos intangíveis em geral. As hipóteses: rentabilidade, crescimento, capital flutuante, dividendos por ação, volatilidade da ação e eficiência foram rejeitadas como fatores explicativos do nível de evidenciação de informações sobre recursos intangíveis em geral. Como contribuição diferencial deste estudo destaca-se a identificação e não rejeição da hipótese tempo de registro na CVM como um dos fatores explicativos. / The objective of this study was to investigate the explicative factors of the level of voluntary disclosure of information about intangible resources in companies listed on BM&FBovespa. Considering market inefficiency, the existence of information asymmetry between managers and shareholders/investors, the Agency Theory indicates that the disclosure might result in the reduction of agency costs. On the other hand, the Proprietary Costs Theory establishes that the disclosure of information would generate cost to the company. The justification to the study is grounded on the fact that even with the large number of studies found about disclosure of information, in an international scope, the number of studies on the level of disclosure of information about intangible resources is still scarce, and in national scope no studies were found. The choice of information about intangible resources was configured by the recognition that they differentiate the competitive potential of a business organization and disclosure of that kind of information could affect the company value. This is an explanatory study, with a qualitative and quantitative approach of the evidences. The sample included 29 companies. The document analyzed was their annual report. The annual reports were downloaded from the websites of the companies, and are related to the period that goes from 2005 to 2009. The level of disclosure of information about intangible resources was measured through the content analysis of annual reports, using indicators and, subsequently, by indexes, according to the Macagnan model (2005). The analysis technique used was multiple linear regression with panel data. The main findings show that the following hypotheses are not rejected: size, leverage, liquidity, market to book ratio and time of registration in the CVM, at a significance level of 1%, as explanatory factors of the level of disclosure of information about intangible resources in general. The hypotheses: profitability, growth, free float, dividends per share, stock volatility and efficiency were rejected as explanatory factors for the level of disclosure of information about intangible resources in general. As a differential contribution of this study the identification and not rejection of the hypothesis time of registration in CVM stands out as one of the explanatory factors.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-06-10T17:05:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juciléia Giacomin_.pdf: 816829 bytes, checksum: 8701b49509878a0033d027e1a6c99133 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-10T17:05:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juciléia Giacomin_.pdf: 816829 bytes, checksum: 8701b49509878a0033d027e1a6c99133 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-02 / Nenhuma / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar as variáveis determinantes da divulgação voluntária de informações de caráter ambiental, de uma amostra de quarenta e sete companhias abertas listadas na BM&FBovespa e classificadas como de alto impacto ambiental, evidenciadas nos Relatórios de Sustentabilidade e Relatório da Administração, correspondentes ao exercício social de 2013. A pesquisa é aplicada quanto à sua natureza; quantitativa quanto à abordagem do problema; descritiva e explicativa quanto ao seu objetivo e documental quanto ao procedimento técnico utilizado. Na primeira parte da análise apresenta-se uma análise descritiva dos dados evidenciados pelas companhias, e na segunda parte, considerando os resultados de estudos precedentes e contribuições de especialistas, foram testadas onze variáveis consideradas como possíveis fatores determinantes desta divulgação, mediante a utilização de análise de regressão linear múltipla. O nível de divulgação voluntária ambiental foi mensurado por meio de uma métrica contendo oito categorias e trinta e oito subcategorias, sugerida em estudo realizado por Rover (2009). Os principais resultados obtidos no estudo indicam que a maioria das evidenciações foi de tipo declarativa e as categorias mais evidenciadas pelas companhias se referiam aos impactos dos produtos e processos e às políticas ambientais. Tamanho da companhia, certificação ambiental e controle acionário foram confirmados como variáveis determinantes do nível de divulgação voluntária ambiental das companhias da amostra. / This study aimed to analyse the determinants of voluntary disclosure of environmental character information, a sample of forty-seven public companies listed on the BM & FBovespa and classified as high environmental impact, evidenced in Sustainability Reports and Management Report corresponding to fiscal year 2013. The research is applied as to its nature; quantitatively and the approach to the problem; descriptive and explanatory as to their purpose and documentary about the technical procedure used. In the first part of the analysis it is presented a descriptive analysis of data disclosed by companies, and in the second part, considering the results of previous studies and contributions from experts, eleven variables were tested and considered as possible determinants of this disclosure, through the use of multiple linear regression analysis. The level of environmental voluntary disclosure was measured by a metric containing eight categories and thirty-eight subcategories, suggested in a study conducted by Rover (2009). The main results of the study indicate that most disclosures were of the declarative type and categories more evidenced by the companies referred to the impact of products and processes and environmental policies. Size of the company, environmental certification and controlling interest were confirmed as determinants of the environmental voluntary disclosure level of the sample companies.

Syfte: Studien har två syften: Att beskriva förekomsten av kategorier och omfattningen av frivillig redovisning om anställda som är relaterad till bolagens sociala ansvar (CSR). Att förklara vilka faktorer som påverkar omfattningen av frivillig redovisning relaterat till anställda.  Metod: Då studien har ett förklarande syfte som berör omfattningen av frivillig redovisning om anställda, så har kvantitativa metoder använts och data till studien har samlats in via en kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Studien utfördes på 56 av de 58 bolag som befann sig på Large Cap, Stockholmsbörsen 2012, varav två bolag fick räknas som bortfall på grund av andra redovisningssätt än de övriga. Datat analyserades sedan genom deskriptiv statistik och multipla regressionsanalyser.  Resultat & slutsats: Stora bolag på Stockholmsbörsen redovisar frivilligt multipla kategorier information om anställda, men den kategori som generellt används mest är profilinformation om anställda. Den faktor som främst förklarar den frivilliga informationen om anställda är bolagets skuldkvot, men också vilken industrisektor ett bolag tillhör har betydelse. Den teori som främst förklarar frivillig redovisning om anställda är agentteorin.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: I denna studie upptäckte vi att bolag redovisar fler kategorier om anställda än vad vi i vår studie deducerat fram från tidigare forskning. En kvalitativ kartläggning av kategorierna kan därför vara ett förslag till fortsatt forskning.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Mycket av tidigare forskning när det gäller frivillig redovisning har haft ett generellt fokus, där flera olika kategorier information som berör socialt ansvar (CSR) har använts och mycket av den har berört miljö eller finansiell information. Denna studie däremot har fokus på vad bolag specifikt frivilligt redovisar om anställda och detta specifika fokus har inte tidigare utförts på stora bolag på Stockholmsbörsen.

One of the main aims of the underlying research is to respond to continuous calls for introducing and measuring a sound economic definition for best practice disclosure quality (e.g. Beyer et al., 2010) that is derived from a reliable guidance framework (Botosan, 2004) using an innovative natural language processing technique (Berger, 2011). It also aims to examine the impact of corporate governance on best practice disclosure quality. Finally, it aims to examine the joint effect of both best practice disclosure quality and corporate governance on firm value. The thesis contributes to disclosure studies in three principal ways. First, it introduces a new measure for best practice disclosure quality. Further tests show that the proposed measure is reliable and valid. A novel feature of this measure is that it captures all qualitative dimensions of information issued by the Accounting Standards Board, 2006 (ASB) Operating and Financial Review (OFR) Reporting Statement. Second, it uses machine-readable OFR statements for financial years ending in 2006-2009, and develops a language processing technique through constructing five keyword lists. Third, it examines the extent to which disclosure quantity provides a proper proxy for disclosure quality. The analysis shows that disclosure quantity is not a good proxy for disclosure quality. Accordingly, results derived, using quantity as a proxy for quality, are questionable. Results of the association between disclosure quality and corporate governance mechanisms suggest that the most effective governance mechanisms in improving disclosure quality are leadership structure, audit committee meeting frequency, and audit firm size. Using a wide set of corporate governance mechanisms, the study also contributes to three research strands and explains the inconclusive results in relation to the association between disclosure quality, corporate governance mechanisms and firm value. It provides empirical evidence as to which governance mechanisms promote the quality of voluntarily disclosed information in large UK firms. Additionally, it provides empirical evidence as to the joint effect of best practice disclosure quality, corporate governance mechanisms on firm value in the UK. Results also show that best practice disclosure quality enjoys a substitutive relationship with two corporate governance mechanisms (audit committee independence and audit committee size) and a complementary association with board independence in relation to firm value. The study has various research and policy implications. It suggests new research avenues for re-examining disclosure relationships, especially research areas that do not have persuasive conclusions such as the economic consequences of disclosure quality. Such research may inform both regulators and managers as to the costs and benefits of disclosure quality to both firms and stakeholders. It also provides feedback on the current disclosure practices by firms so that policy-makers can modify reporting frameworks/guidance accordingly.

abstract: Managers’ control over the timing and content of information disclosure represents a significant strategic tool which they can use at their discretion. However, extant theoretical perspectives offer incongruent arguments and incompatible predictions about when and why managers would release inside information about their firms. More specifically, agency theory and theories within competitive dynamics provide competing hypotheses about when and why managers would disclose inside information about their firms. In this study, I highlight how voluntary disclosure theory may help to coalesce these two theoretical perspectives. Voluntary disclosure theory predicts that managers will release inside information when managers perceive that the benefits outweigh the costs of doing so. Accordingly, I posit that competitive dynamics introduce the costs associated with disclosing information (i.e., proprietary costs) and that agency theory highlights the benefits associated with disclosing information. Examining the context of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), I identify three ways managers can use information in SEO prospectuses. I hypothesize that competitive intensity increases proprietary costs that will reduce disclosure of inside information but will increase discussing the organization positively. I then hypothesize that capital market participants (e.g., security analysts and investors) may prefer managers to provide more, clearer, and positive information about the SEO and their firms. I find support for many of my hypotheses. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2017