Article: Corporate governance mechanisms and disclosure in medium-sized listed firms: substitutes or complements? Journal: International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business (IJGSB) 2014 Vol.6 No.1 pp.37 - 63 Abstract: This paper, focusing on a non-Anglo-Saxon market, attempts to advance knowledge in the understanding of the complementary/substitute relationship between governance mechanisms and corporate disclosure in medium-sized listed firms. The manuscript applies content analysis techniques and proposes a disclosure quality score index, based on the quantity, the variety and the completeness of information disclosed. Moreover, OLS regression analysis is performed for testing the explanatory power of internal and external corporate governance mechanisms as determinants of communication quality. The results demonstrate the relevance of internal control mechanism, as well as their current substitutive nature respect to disclosure. In addition, empirical evidence show that a diffuse ownership along with the existence of a high number of committees are associated with increased qualitative levels of voluntary disclosure. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Corporate governance mechanisms and disclosure in medium-sized listed firms: substitutes or complements?

Authors: Giovanni Satta; Francesco Parola; Giorgia Profumo; Lara Penco

Addresses: Department of Economics and Business, University of Genoa, Via Vivaldi 5, 16126 Genoa, Italy ' Department of Business and Quantitative Studies, University of Naples 'Parthenope', Via Generale Parisi 13, 80132 Naples, Italy ' Department of Economics and Business, University of Genoa, Via Vivaldi 5, 16126 Genoa, Italy ' Department of Economics and Business, University of Genoa, Via Vivaldi 5, 16126 Genoa, Italy

Abstract: This paper, focusing on a non-Anglo-Saxon market, attempts to advance knowledge in the understanding of the complementary/substitute relationship between governance mechanisms and corporate disclosure in medium-sized listed firms. The manuscript applies content analysis techniques and proposes a disclosure quality score index, based on the quantity, the variety and the completeness of information disclosed. Moreover, OLS regression analysis is performed for testing the explanatory power of internal and external corporate governance mechanisms as determinants of communication quality. The results demonstrate the relevance of internal control mechanism, as well as their current substitutive nature respect to disclosure. In addition, empirical evidence show that a diffuse ownership along with the existence of a high number of committees are associated with increased qualitative levels of voluntary disclosure.

Keywords: corporate disclosure quality; corporate governance mechanisms; medium-sized listed firms; content analysis; communication quality; internal controls; diffuse ownership; committees; voluntary disclosure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSB.2014.063406

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2014 Vol.6 No.1, pp.37 - 63

Received: 18 Apr 2013
Accepted: 17 Feb 2014
Published online: 26 Jul 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article

Title: Corporate governance mechanisms and disclosure in medium-sized listed firms: substitutes or complements?

Keep up-to-date