shareholders receiving financial information through annual reviews incorporating a summary financial statement. Recent changes in the legislation and in share ownership make it a relevant and timely study that builds on the limited amount of research carried out in this area. The main aim of the study was to establish the variables that determine readership of annual reviews. The theoretical framework was drawn from the philosophy of language and the work of Wittgenstein, in particular. Both the general communication literature and that relating to specific communication of financial information to shareholders have been reviewed as some companies use annual reviews to communicate information to their private shareholders. A study-specific model was constructed from the prevIOUS theoretical and empirical work and this was used to test specific propositions. A quantitative methodology was used for the main part of the study involving three companies issuing annual reviews. 1,601 usable questionnaires were received and analysed, which represented a 27% response rate. Prior to the questionnaire survey a preliminary study, based on focus groups and interviews, refined the questions to be included in the survey instrument. The results show that there is a strong association between the importance attached to the sections of the annual reviews by private shareholders and their level of readership for all sections. Despite the suggestions of earlier researchers, demographic variables and reasons for reading the annual reviews showed little association with the level of readership. The self-image of private shareholders is associated with readership of summary financial information, but not with readership of the chairman's statement. The thesis concludes by considering the implications of these results for legislators, companies issuing annual reviews and further research studies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:297834 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Hansford, Ann |
| Publisher | University of the West of England, Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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