Abstract
Investor relations is the field of management that is concerned with the relationships between companies and investors, and as such involves a wide variety of information types, for example mandatory, voluntary, financial, non-financial, qualitative and quantitative. While South Africa has recently been ranked number one for the strength of its auditing and reporting standards for the seventh consecutive year (IRBA, 2016), investor relations as a wider and voluntary concept, is largely un-researched in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to establish the determinants of Internet investor relations (IIR).The quality of IIR was measured for a sample of 85 JSE-listed companies using a measurement instrument that consists of 346 attributes. From the literature, as discussed in the literature review, 15 company characteristics were identified that could explain IIR quality. Stepwise regression model-building was used to develop a regression model that best explains IIR quality.Company size, leverage, being audited by a big four audit company, JSE industry membership, free float and dual listing status were found statistically significant independent variables, explaining 68.76% of the variation in the dependent variable, IIR. Contributions to the body of knowledge, study limitations and the need for further research are discussed in the conclusion.
Highlights
Granting that several investor relations communication channels are available to companies, for example, presentations, media releases, Twitter, Facebook and corporate websites, the current study examines only one of these channels, namely the corporate website
The quality of Internet investor relations (IIR) was measured for a sample of 85 JSE-listed companies using a measurement instrument that consists of 346 attributes
The current study used a measurement instrument that consists of 346 attributes to measure IIR
Summary
Granting that several investor relations communication channels are available to companies, for example, presentations, media releases, Twitter, Facebook and corporate websites, the current study examines only one of these channels, namely the corporate website. While JSElisted companies are mandated by various standards, acts and codes to communicate specific information items to investors (e.g. the integrated annual report), the decision to use the corporate website as investor relations communication channel is voluntary in nature. This study defines Internet investor relations (IIR) as the use of the corporate website to enhance investor relations. For a detailed discussion of this measurement instrument, see Nel and Brummer (2016). Given the labour-intensity of using such a measurement instrument, a sample of 25% of JSE-listed companies was selected using stratified (JSE industry) random sampling with proportionate allocation. All IIR measurements were done from March to September 2015
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
