IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i13p3744-d246764.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determinants of Companies that Disclose High-Quality Integrated Reports

Author

Listed:
  • Petra F. A. Dilling

    (School of Management, New York Institute of Technology, Vancouver, BC V7Y 1K8, Canada)

  • Sinan Caykoylu

    (School of Management, New York Institute of Technology, Vancouver, BC V7Y 1K8, Canada)

Abstract

Integrated reporting is becoming increasingly popular. The focus of this study was to assess the overall integrated reporting quality of global companies and find determinants of high-level integrated reporting. Qualitative text analysis was performed on the 2017 integrated reports of 110 global organizations to determine in what way companies report on specific topics related to the six capitals: social and relationship, human, intellectual, manufacturing, natural, and financial. Using a novel assessment technique, scores were then assigned according to the details provided in the integrated reports on the various topics. This was done for each form of capital, and the total integrated score was subsequently calculated as the average between all the capital scores. Finally, a regression analysis was performed to determine the characteristics of high-quality integrated reporters. The results of univariate analysis and two-stage least squares instrumental variable (2SLS) regression indicate that companies of a larger size with a higher female board ratio and listing in the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) examples database are more likely to publish a higher quality integrated report. The results imply that these variables are the main disclosure drivers. However, a significant negative correlation was found between integrated report quality and the variables related to female executive ratio, external board member ratio, profitability, leverage, and previous report experience, as well as report length. No significant association was found between the location and industry group and report quality. The empirical evidence of this study shows that even though integrated reporting has become more common overall, the comparability and quality of the reports still remain low.

Suggested Citation

  • Petra F. A. Dilling & Sinan Caykoylu, 2019. "Determinants of Companies that Disclose High-Quality Integrated Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-31, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:13:p:3744-:d:246764
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3744/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/13/3744/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. José V. Frias‐Aceituno & Lazaro Rodriguez‐Ariza & I.M Garcia‐Sanchez, 2013. "The Role of the Board in the Dissemination of Integrated Corporate Social Reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 219-233, July.
    2. Merve Kılıç & Cemil Kuzey, 2018. "Determinants of forward-looking disclosures in integrated reporting," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(1), pages 115-144, January.
    3. Bin Srinidhi & Ferdinand A. Gul & Judy Tsui, 2011. "Female Directors and Earnings Quality," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1610-1644, December.
    4. Justyna Dyduch & Joanna Krasodomska, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: An Empirical Study of Polish Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-24, October.
    5. Robert G. Eccles & Michael P. Krzus & Sydney Ribot, 2015. "Models of Best Practice in Integrated Reporting 2015," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 27(2), pages 103-115, June.
    6. Yaismir Adriana Rivera-Arrubla & Ana Zorio-Grima & María A. García-Benau, 2017. "Integrated reports: disclosure level and explanatory factors," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(1), pages 155-176, March.
    7. Dang, Chongyu & (Frank) Li, Zhichuan & Yang, Chen, 2018. "Measuring firm size in empirical corporate finance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 159-176.
    8. Kansal, Monika & Joshi, Mahesh & Batra, Gurdip Singh, 2014. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosures: Evidence from India," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 217-229.
    9. Dulacha G. Barako & Phil Hancock & H. Y. Izan, 2006. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Corporate Disclosure by Kenyan Companies," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 107-125, March.
    10. Iris Vermeir & Patrick Kenhove, 2008. "Gender Differences in Double Standards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(2), pages 281-295, August.
    11. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2007. "Enhanced routines for instrumental variables/generalized method of moments estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(4), pages 465-506, December.
    12. Shanti, 2018. "The Effect of Integrating Reporting on Earnings Quality: A Study of Family Firms in Indonesia," GATR Journals jfbr144, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    13. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    14. Charl de Villiers & Leonardo Rinaldi & Jeffrey Unerman, 2014. "Integrated Reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(7), pages 1042-1067, August.
    15. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Leung, Sidney, 2004. "Board leadership, outside directors' expertise and voluntary corporate disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 351-379.
    16. Core, John & Guay, Wayne, 1999. "The use of equity grants to manage optimal equity incentive levels," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-184, December.
    17. Guidry, Ronald P. & Patten, Dennis M., 2012. "Voluntary disclosure theory and financial control variables: An assessment of recent environmental disclosure research," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 81-90.
    18. Kolk, Ans, 2010. "Trajectories of sustainability reporting by MNCs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 367-374, October.
    19. Sarah Adams & Roger Simnett, 2011. "Integrated Reporting: An Opportunity for Australia's Not-for-Profit Sector," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 21(3), pages 292-301, September.
    20. Chau, Gerald & Gray, Sidney J., 2010. "Family ownership, board independence and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 93-109.
    21. Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Yang, He & Chow, Chee W., 2004. "The determinants and characteristics of voluntary Internet-based disclosures by listed Chinese companies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 191-225.
    22. Tricia Ong & Hadrian Geri Djajadikerta, 2018. "Corporate governance and sustainability reporting in the Australian resources industry: an empirical analysis," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, November.
    23. Cristiano Busco & Mark L. Frigo & Angelo Riccaboni & Paolo Quattrone (ed.), 2013. "Integrated Reporting," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-319-02168-3, September.
    24. Cheng-Li Huang & Fan-Hua Kung, 2010. "Drivers of Environmental Disclosure and Stakeholder Expectation: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 435-451, October.
    25. Elisa Truant & Laura Corazza & Simone Domenico Scagnelli, 2017. "Sustainability and Risk Disclosure: An Exploratory Study on Sustainability Reports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, April.
    26. Gary K Meek & Clare B Roberts & Sidney J Gray, 1995. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Annual Report Disclosures By U.S., U.K. and Continental European Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(3), pages 555-572, September.
    27. Eng, L. L. & Mak, Y. T., 2003. "Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 325-345.
    28. Simon Ho & Annie Li & Kinsun Tam & Feida Zhang, 2015. "CEO Gender, Ethical Leadership, and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 351-370, March.
    29. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    30. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    31. Adams, Carol A., 2015. "The International Integrated Reporting Council: A call to action," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 23-28.
    32. Linda Thorne & Lois S. Mahoney & Giacomo Manetti, 2014. "Motivations for issuing standalone CSR reports: a survey of Canadian firms," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(4), pages 686-714, April.
    33. Jose-Manuel Prado-Lorenzo & Isabel-Maria Garcia-Sanchez, 2010. "The Role of the Board of Directors in Disseminating Relevant Information on Greenhouse Gases," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(3), pages 391-424, December.
    34. Anna Mikusheva & Brian P. Poi, 2006. "Tests and confidence sets with correct size when instruments are potentially weak," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 6(3), pages 335-347, September.
    35. Mohammed Hossain & Masrur Reaz, 2007. "The determinants and characteristics of voluntary disclosure by Indian banking companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(5), pages 274-288, December.
    36. Levi S. Stewart, 2015. "Growing Demand for ESG Information and Standards: Understanding Corporate Opportunities as Well as Risks," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 27(2), pages 58-63, June.
    37. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    38. Leonardo Rinaldi & Jeffrey Unerman & Charl de Villiers, 2018. "Evaluating the integrated reporting journey: insights, gaps and agendas for future research," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(5), pages 1294-1318, June.
    39. Baiman, S & Verrecchia, RE, 1996. "The relation among capital markets, financial disclosure, production efficiency, and insider trading," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 1-22.
    40. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2011. "Corporate Governance, Product Market Competition, and Equity Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 563-600, April.
    41. Habiba Al‐Shaer & Mahbub Zaman, 2018. "Credibility of sustainability reports: The contribution of audit committees," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 973-986, November.
    42. Ronald P. Guidry & Dennis M. Patten, 2012. "Voluntary disclosure theory and financial control variables: An assessment of recent environmental disclosure research," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 81-90, June.
    43. Zhichuan (Frank) Li & Caleb Thibodeau, 2019. "CSR-Contingent Executive Compensation Incentive and Earnings Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-12, June.
    44. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arie Pratama & Winwin Yadiati & Nanny Dewi Tanzil & Jadi Suprijadi, 2021. "Integrated Reporting in Southeast Asia: Does Value Creation Work?," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 10, September.
    2. Yanqi Sun & Pui San Ip & Michael Jones & Jenny Jing Wang & Yi An, 2021. "Determinants of Animal Welfare Disclosure Practices: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Sumaia Ayesh Qaderi & Belal Ali Abdulraheem Ghaleb & Abdulwahid Ahmed Hashed & Sitraselvi Chandren & Zaimah Abdullah, 2022. "Board Characteristics and Integrated Reporting Strategy: Does Sustainability Committee Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-24, May.
    4. Ghazi Zouari & Kawther Dhifi, 2021. "The impact of board characteristics on integrated reporting: case of European companies," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(1), pages 83-94, March.
    5. Maurizio Cisi & Francesca Alice Centrone, 2021. "The Human Capital for Value Creation and Social Impact: The Interpretation of the IR’s HC Definition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1, June.
    6. Riccardo Santoni, 2023. "Integrated Reporting come sistema manageriale per raggiungere obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile: una verifica empirica," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(1), pages 43-68.
    7. Pappu Kumar Dey, 2020. "Value relevance of integrated reporting: a study of the Bangladesh banking sector," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(4), pages 195-207, December.
    8. Mariasole Bannò & Emilia Filippi & Sandro Trento, 2023. "Women in top echelon positions and their effects on sustainability: a review, synthesis and future research agenda," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 181-251, March.
    9. Maria Federica Izzo & Mirella Ciaburri & Riccardo Tiscini, 2020. "The Challenge of Sustainable Development Goal Reporting: The First Evidence from Italian Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, April.
    10. Thilini Cooray & A. D. Nuwan Gunarathne & Samanthi Senaratne, 2020. "Does Corporate Governance Affect the Quality of Integrated Reporting?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-30, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Simona Alfiero & Massimo Cane & Ruggiero Doronzo & Alfredo Esposito, 2018. "Determining characteristics of boards adopting Integrated Reporting," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(2), pages 37-71.
    2. Rupjyoti Saha & K. C. Kabra, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Voluntary Disclosure: A Synthesis of Empirical Studies," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 8(2), pages 117-138, July.
    3. Walid Ben-Amar & Millicent Chang & Philip McIlkenny, 2017. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Sustainability Initiatives: Evidence from the Carbon Disclosure Project," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 369-383, May.
    4. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & María J. Barroso-Méndez & María L. Pajuelo-Moreno & Julio Sánchez-Meca, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Performance: A Meta-Analytic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-33, February.
    5. Rodríguez-Ariza, Lázaro & Frías Aceituno, José V. & García Rubio, Raquel, 2014. "El consejo de administración y las memorias de sostenibilidad," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 5-16.
    6. Laura Girella & Paola Rossi & Stefano Zambon, 2019. "Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1323-1340, November.
    7. Samaha, Khaled & Khlif, Hichem & Hussainey, Khaled, 2015. "The impact of board and audit committee characteristics on voluntary disclosure: A meta-analysis," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 13-28.
    8. Busco, Cristiano & Malafronte, Irma & Pereira, John & Starita, Maria Grazia, 2019. "The determinants of companies’ levels of integration: Does one size fit all?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 277-298.
    9. Walid Ben‐Amar & Philip McIlkenny, 2015. "Board Effectiveness and the Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Information," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 704-719, December.
    10. Jaime Guerrero-Villegas & Leticia Pérez-Calero & José Manuel Hurtado-González & Pilar Giráldez-Puig, 2018. "Board Attributes and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Luminita Enache & Antonio Parbonetti & Anup Srivastava, 2020. "Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 541-577, August.
    12. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & René P. Orij, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Sustainability Performance: Analysis of Triple Bottom Line Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 411-432, May.
    13. Sohail Ahmad Javeed & Lin Lefen, 2019. "An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance with Moderating Effects of CEO Power and Ownership Structure: A Case Study of the Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, January.
    14. Luigi Lepore & Loris Landriani & Sabrina Pisano & Gabriella D’Amore & Stefano Pozzoli, 2023. "Corporate governance in the digital age: the role of social media and board independence in CSR disclosure. Evidence from Italian listed companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(3), pages 749-785, September.
    15. Ezhilarasi G. & K. C. Kabra, 2017. "The Impact of Corporate Governance Attributes on Environmental Disclosures: Evidence from India," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 10(1), pages 24-43, June.
    16. Giorgio Mion & Cristian R. Loza Adaui, 2019. "Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure and Its Consequences on the Sustainability Reporting Quality of Italian and German Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-28, August.
    17. Rodríguez Domínguez, Luis & Noguera Gámez, Ligia Carolina, 2014. "Corporate reporting on risks: Evidence from Spanish companies," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 116-129.
    18. Hichem Khlif & Kamran Ahmed & Mohsen Souissi, 2017. "Ownership structure and voluntary disclosure: A synthesis of empirical studies," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(3), pages 376-403, August.
    19. Hidaya Lawati & Khaled Hussainey & Roza Sagitova, 2021. "Disclosure quality vis-à-vis disclosure quantity: Does audit committee matter in Omani financial institutions?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 557-594, August.
    20. Shashank Bansal & Maria Victoria Lopez-Perez & Lazaro Rodriguez-Ariza, 2018. "Board Independence and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: The Mediating Role of the Presence of Family Ownership," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-21, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:13:p:3744-:d:246764. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.