Internet Disclosure by Nonprofit Organizations: Empirical Evidence of Nongovernmental Organizations for Development in Spain

Abstract

This article examines the relevance of technology, and particularly the Internet, for the improvement of accountability and transparency in nonprofit organizations. The novelty of our work regarding the previous empirical evidence resides in the fact that we have taken into account the means through which these organizations diffuse voluntary information. In this article, we have proposed a model of information disclosure for the Web sites of Spanish nongovernmental organizations for development (NGODs) that can serve as a guide for improving their informative transparency and their accountability. The empirical evidence obtained reveals that Spanish NGOD Web sites are primarily ornamental and that they should evolve toward an environment more informational and relational that allows the stakeholders to access relevant information ranging from the work being done and the use of the dispersed funds to the form in which the organization is governed. Our results have also confirmed that the disclosure levels are related to the amount of future donations received by the organization.