Determinants of corporate reporting on the internet

Abstract

PurposeThe primary objective of this study is to investigate the utilization of the internet by the Turkish companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) for corporate reporting; to determine the company characteristics that influence the information disclosure level on the internet; and to investigate whether there is a significant difference between the firms listed in the Corporate Governance Index of the ISE and those that are not, in terms of level of disclosure on the corporate web sites.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of the study was content analysis of corporate web sites of corporations listed on the ISE.FindingsFirms, which are listed in the ISE Corporate Governance Index (XCORP), disclose significantly more information on corporate web sites compared to the firms that are not listed in the XCORP. In addition, the results indicate that firm size and being listed in the XCORP are significant explanatory variables for the total disclosure score on the corporate web sites, while industry and profitability are not.Research limitations/implicationsSince the study was conducted on a sample of listed companies on the ISE, the findings are not necessarily representative of non‐listed companies.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the scarce literature on internet reporting in developing countries and it incorporates the XCORP in the predictors of information disclosure level on corporate web sites.