Abstract
This paper analyses the determinants of voluntary disclosure on research and development (R&D) activities by listed Canadian firms. Using content analysis, we examine the extent of R&D voluntary disclosure by examining the annual reports from 150 companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). By using a large set of factors that are expected to impact on voluntary disclosure, this study investigates the extent to which firm characteristics (size, leverage, listing status), R&D related variables (R&D intensity, R&D partnership greement, R&D accounting policy) and corporate governance attributes (board independence and the separation of the CEO and Board Chair roles) influence voluntary disclosure on R&D activities. After controlling for industry membership, our results, obtained from a negative binomial regression, show that firm size, R&D intensity, R&D partnership agreement and the separation of the CEO and Board Chair functions have a significant positive impact on the extent of voluntary disclosure on R&D activities. However, the findings reveal that leverage, listing status, R&D accounting policy and board independence are not significant in explaining the level of R&D voluntary disclosure.
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