Internet-based Disclosure Research Articles

Adult patient perspectives on clinical trial result reporting: A survey of cancer patients.

The provision of study results to research participants is supported by pediatric and adult literature. This study assessed adult cancer patient preferences surrounding aggregate result disclosure to study participants. A 46-item questionnaire was given to 250 adult cancer patients who had participated in oncology trials at a single center. Respondents answered questions surrounding their preferences for timing, content, and modality of communication for dissemination of study results. Questionnaire completion rate was 76% (189/250). Most patients (92%) strongly felt a right to know study results. Patients preferred result dissemination via letter for trials with positive outcomes, but preferred in-person clinic visits for negative outcomes. Despite this, a majority of participants (59%) found letters acceptable to inform participants of negative results. Only a minority (36%) of the participants found Internet-based disclosure acceptable for negative trial results. Unfortunately, very few patients (8%) recalled having received the results for a study they participated in, and of these patients, less than half fully understood the results they were given. Most clinical trial participants feel they have a right to study result disclosure, regardless of trial outcome. In-person visits are preferred for negative results, but more feasible alternatives such as letters were still acceptable for the majority of participants. However, Internet-based disclosure was not acceptable to most participants in oncology trials. Time and cost allocations for result disclosure should be considered during grant and ethics board applications, and clear guidelines are required to help researchers share the results with patients.

How much is enough? An investigation of nonprofessional investors information search and stopping rule use

Regulators are concerned that the information overload in the current Internet-based disclosure environment may cause investors to overlook important information. To gain a better understanding of the information set gathered by investors, this study incorporates theories from information systems research to examine the cognitive stopping rules used by investors to terminate information search. We survey nonprofessional investors to gain insight into what information they gather and when they determine they have enough information to stop searching and make an investment decision. Demographic analysis shows that investor characteristics are associated with the particular stopping rule used. In addition, results show that the stopping rule used affects the amount and type of information gathered. We find that, in general, investors include very little financial information in their search, and the amount gathered depends on the stopping rule employed. Our results call into question the decision usefulness of accounting information for nonprofessional investors and should be of interest to accounting information systems researchers, regulators, and accounting practitioners.

The Level of Voluntary Electronic Disclosure in Jordanian Companies and Factors that Influence the Level of this Disclosure: An applied study on Jordanian Companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange

The aim of this research paper was to explore the level of electronic disclosure on financial and non-financial information of Jordanian corporations listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), and to identify factors that have an impact on electronic disclosure used by Jordanian corporations. Finally, the research also intended to examine the level of each financial and non-financial items on the basis of data published in 2014. The Internet Disclosure Index (IDI), which consisted of 40 items was constructed and used to measure the level of the Internet-based disclosure. Simple linear regression analysis was used to analyze research data. The population of the current research comprised all Jordanian public-listed corporations in Amman Stock Exchange Securities in 2014. There were 270 corporations distributed on four sectors; banking, insurance, services as well as industry. The results revealed that 48.9% (132 corporations) have websites and 51.1% (138) have no websites. It was concluded that the level of the Internet-based disclosure is 6.6%. Finally, the findings indicated that there was an association between company size, liquidity, profitability, audit office size, and the level of the Internet-based disclosure. On the other hand, company efficiency, financial leverage along with debt to equity ratio were found to have no association with the level of the Internet-based disclosure.

The Impact of Web-Based Disclosure on the Capital Market Risk

This paper evaluates the Web-based voluntary disclosure practices in a sample of 180 French listed firms. The main objective is to investigate the impact of Internet-based disclosure on capital market risk. Three measures are used to present the capital market risk: total risk is measured by the standard deviation of stock returns, and systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk are the beta and standard deviation of the residuals generated from the market model, respectively. Following the method of Gajewski and Li, the Web-based disclosure is measured by an index of 40 items. The empirical results show that total risk and idiosyncratic risk vary inversely with the strength of Internet disclosure. This indicates that improved online disclosure can reduce investors’ uncertainty in the capital market. However, systematic risk is not influenced by the disclosure practice. Furthermore, capital concentration and board size are negatively associated with total and idiosyncratic risk. This study extends the prior research by investigating the influence of online disclosure on capital risk in the French stock market. I am particularly concerned about the technical features of Internet disclosure and its impact on capital risk. Online information is generally considered to be user-friendly, yet it is now necessary to analyze the effect of this convenience provided by Internet technology on the capital market.

Can Internet-based disclosure reduce information asymmetry?

The Internet is widely used by listed companies to manage investor relations. Since January 2007, the French Financial Authority has required companies listed on Euronext-Paris to disclose all mandatory financial information via the Internet in order to enhance information transparency. This paper examines the impact of Internet-based disclosure on the French stock market by analyzing the relationship between information asymmetry and Internet disclosure practices. Extending previous studies on Web-based disclosure, a checklist of 40 items is developed to evaluate the level of Internet-based voluntary disclosure. Measuring information asymmetry by the spread and the probability of informed trading, we show that greater Web-based disclosure lowers information asymmetry in the French financial market.

The Impact of Internet-Based Disclosure on Capital Market Risk

This study examines the relationship between Internet-based disclosure and capital market risk. Based on prior research, an index of 49 items is developed to evaluate the level of Internet-based voluntary disclosure in France. Three measures are used to present the capital market risk: total risk is measured by the standard deviation of stock returns, and systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk are the beta and standard deviation of the residuals generated from the market model, respectively. A series of corporate governance factors are also introduced in order to analyze their effect on capital market risk. The results show that total risk and idiosyncratic risk vary inversely with the strength of Internet disclosure. This indicates that improved online disclosure can reduce investors’ uncertainty in the capital market. However, systematic risk is not influenced by the disclosure practice. Furthermore, capital concentration and board size are negatively associated with total and idiosyncratic risk.

Using Online Video to Announce a Restatement: Influences on Investor Trust and Investment Decisions*

Restatements are economically significant events that damage investor trust in a firm’s financial reporting. We conduct an experiment to investigate how using online video to announce a restatement interacts with the level of responsibility a manager assumes for the restatement to influence investors’ perceptions of management’s trustworthiness and post-restatement investment decisions. We examine the use of online video for restatement disclosure due to video’s recent, explosive growth as a corporate communication tool. Our results reveal that when the CEO’s firm is the only firm restating, participants viewing the restatement announcement online via video make larger investments in the firm and are more confident in the firm’s future ability to meet analysts’ expectations than are participants who view the restatement announcement online via text. However, we do not observe this effect when the CEO’s firm and its industry peers are restating. Our results also reveal that participants’ perceptions of management’s trustworthiness mediate the influences of disclosure venue and assumed responsibility on post-restatement investment decisions. These findings are important given the dramatic increase in the number of restatements over time, the resultant deterioration of investor trust, and the Security and Exchange Commission’s recent emphasis on transitioning from traditional, paper-based to new, Internet-based disclosure venues.

Digital Disclosure of Company Data in Germany and Europe - Regarding the Implementation of the Disclosure Directive (2003) and the Transparency Directive in Germany

This paper in German analyzes policy requirements with respect to the accessibility of company data in Germany. Presently, a uniform disclosure system does not exist in Germany. Instead, company data are subject to registration at systems that are organized and administered by the local courts (so called Handelsregister), and published in primarily local newspapers. Other information is accessible at the company website, the websites of the stock exchanges and private information intermediaries, as well as the authorities involved in the supervision of corporate and securities law. The split jurisdiction of the German federal states and the involvement of manifold public, private, and semi-private actors in providing company information imposes significant costs upon the addressees of company information. In order to stop this uncontrolled growth of the use of media for company disclosure, the Federal German government took a first step in launching an electronic version of the federal bulletin in 2003. However, further legislative steps are required in order to fulfill the conditions of the Disclosure Directive of 2003, as well as those of the (forthcoming) Transparency Directive. These steps include a legislative requirement to register, and store digitally, all company data that is disclosed, and to publish them at one central internet website. The storage and the website together would constitute the German Company Register. Such a central, internet-based disclosure system must fulfill three criteria: (1) permanent storage; (2) immutability; and (3) accessibility for all parties that are interested in company data. The German Company Registrar will be the German contribution to the European Business Registrar.

The determinants and characteristics of voluntary Internet-based disclosures by listed Chinese companies

This paper analyzes the factors behind Chinese listed companies' voluntary adoption of Internet-based financial reporting, as well as their extent of disclosure. Factors identified as being relevant to voluntary disclosure choices in the more advanced market economies are included. In addition, theories on innovation diffusion and voluntary disclosure are used to generate hypotheses about factors specific to the Chinese context, such as type of auditor, foreign listing, different classes of stock ownership, and government regulation. Findings from the largest 300 listed Chinese companies support the proposition that these firms' Internet-based disclosure choices are responsive to specific attributes of their environment. The implications of the findings for policy and research are delineated.

The determinants and characteristics of voluntary Internet-based disclosures by listed Chinese companies

This paper analyzes the factors behind Chinese listed companies' voluntary adoption of Internet-based financial reporting, as well as their extent of disclosure. Factors identified as being relevant to voluntary disclosure choices in the more advanced market economies are included. In addition, theories on innovation diffusion and voluntary disclosure are used to generate hypotheses about factors specific to the Chinese context, such as type of auditor, foreign listing, different classes of stock ownership, and government regulation. Findings from the largest 300 listed Chinese companies support the proposition that these firms' Internet-based disclosure choices are responsive to specific attributes of their environment. The implications of the findings for policy and research are delineated.

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The Internet is widely used by listed companies to manage investor relations. Since January 2007, the French Financial Authority has required companies listed on Euronext-Paris to disclose all mandatory financial information via the Internet in order to enhance information transparency. This paper examines the impact of Internet-based disclosure on the French stock market by analyzing the relationship between information asymmetry and Internet disclosure practices. Extending previous studies on Web-based disclosure, a checklist of 40 items is developed to evaluate the level of Internet-based voluntary disclosure. Measuring information asymmetry by the spread and the probability of informed trading, we show that greater Web-based disclosure lowers information asymmetry in the French financial market.