Voluntary Disclosure of Company Information - Costly Additions or a Step towards Competitive Advantage?

An Application to the Case of Publicly Quoted Football Clubs in Europe

Diploma Thesis , 2000 , 135 Pages , Grade: 1.7

Business economics - Operations Research

In einem ersten Schritt leitet diese Diplomarbeit (European Research Project, ERP) die Notwendigkeit von freiwilliger Unternehmenspublizität in strategischen und nicht-finanziellen Bereichen her. Es wird argumentiert, daß Unternehmen ein integraler Bestandteil einer gemeinsamen Umwelt sind und sich in einer Reihe interdependenter Beziehungen mit dieser befinden. Daher werden sie zunehmend als Interessengemeinschaften verschiedener Anspruchsgruppen gesehen, die nur dann optimal handeln können, wenn die Ansprüche umfassend beachtet und berücksichtigt werden. Dabei sind Informationsansprüche davon abhängig, wie die jeweilige Information zur Verbesserung von Entscheidungsprozessen genutzt werden kann. Dies wiederum wird vom Potential der Information bestimmt, Unsicherheit in den betreffenden Entscheidungsbereichen zu reduzieren. Unsicherheit besteht für externe Entscheidungsträger vor allem in den Bereichen, in die herkömmliche Unternehmensinformationen wenige oder gar keine Einblicke gewähren. Aufgrund der traditionellen, finanzorientierten Auffassung der Publizität gilt dies in besonderem Maße für strategische und andere nicht-finanzielle Aspekte. Entsprechende freiwillige Publizität kann daher Unsicherheit erheblich reduzieren, insbesondere dann, wenn sie im Rahmen von testierten Dokumenten stattfindet. Gängige Finanzberichterstattung und bestehende Pflichtpublizität sind dagegen nicht in der Lage, die Befriedigung der Informationsbedürfnisse der Anspruchsgruppen annähernd zu gewährleisten.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Index of Figures
• Executive Summary (English)
• Executive Summary (French)
• Executive Summary (German)
• Introduction
  • Problem Area and Objectives of the Work
  • Rationale
  • Conception of Strategic and Non-financial Voluntary Disclosure, Delimitation and Use of Terms
• Demand for Strategic and Non-financial Voluntary Disclosure
  • Function and Role
  • Target Groups
  • Factors Affecting Demand
  • Contents and Relevance of Specific Voluntary Disclosure Areas
    • Strategic Disclosure
    • Non-Financial Disclosure
• Supply-Side Factors Influencing Voluntary Disclosure Behaviour
  • Regulatory Environment as a Supply-Side Factor
    • Organisations Relevant to Setting Disclosure Standards
    • Legal Requirements
  • Potential Opportunities and Disadvantages of Voluntary Disclosure as Supply-Side Factors
    • Effects on Capital Markets
      • Processing of Information in Capital Markets
      • Executives' Assessment of Effects and Resulting Disclosure
    • Effects outside Capital Markets
      • Management
      • Employees
      • Competitors
      • Customers, Suppliers, Creditors
      • Other Possible Benefits
      • Common Costs Related to Disclosure
    • Significance of Company Characteristics
• Enhancing the Knowledge of Voluntary Disclosure
  • Necessity for a Better Understanding of Voluntary Disclosure
  • Unresolved Problems and Hypotheses to Examine
  • Specific Additional Knowledge to be Contributed
• Determinants and Incentives for Strategic and Non-financial Voluntary Disclosure in Practice
  • Research Methodology
    • Research Site
    • Research Design
  • Review of Annual Reports
    • Items for Voluntary Disclosure and their Scoring (Dependent Variable)
    • Corporate Characteristics (Independent Variables)
  • Results of the Review of Annual Reports
    • Descriptive Statistics: Company Characteristics and Actual Disclosure by Companies
    • Multiple Linear Regression: Company Characteristics and Disclosure Scores
    • Conclusions and Discussion
  • Interviews with Executives
    • Obtaining the Data
    • Analysing the Data
  • Results of the Interviews with Executives
    • Influence of Company Characteristics
    • Additionally Perceived Incentives and Disincentives
    • Process of Decision-Making
    • Differences between Strategic and Non-Financial Voluntary Disclosure
    • Conclusions and Discussion
• Conclusion
  • Summary of Results and Interpretation
  • Implications
  • Critical Assessment of the Research
  • Extension
• Bibliography
• Appendix A - Examples for Strategic and Non-financial Voluntary Disclosure
• Appendix B - Research Site in Detail
• Appendix C-Voluntary Disclosure Items
• Appendix D - Basic Statistical Measures
• Appendix E-Voluntary Disclosure Items: Frequency of Disclosure
• Appendix F - Questionnaire for Telephone Interviews
• Appendix G-Complete Analysis of Telephone Interviews

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This research project aims to investigate the determinants and incentives for voluntary disclosure of strategic and non-financial information by publicly quoted football clubs in Europe. The study explores the factors influencing companies' decisions to disclose information beyond legal requirements, examining the potential benefits and costs associated with such disclosure.

• The role of regulatory environment and capital market dynamics in influencing voluntary disclosure behaviour.
• The impact of company characteristics, such as size, financial performance, and ownership structure, on disclosure decisions.
• The incentives and disincentives perceived by executives regarding voluntary disclosure, including reputational benefits, investor relations, and competitive pressures.
• The relationship between voluntary disclosure and company performance, exploring whether disclosure can lead to improved financial outcomes.
• The specific challenges and opportunities associated with voluntary disclosure in the context of the football industry.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the research topic, outlining the problem area, objectives, and rationale for the study. It also defines key terms and concepts related to voluntary disclosure, including strategic and non-financial disclosure.

Chapter 2 examines the demand for strategic and non-financial voluntary disclosure, exploring the function and role of such disclosure, the target groups, and the factors affecting demand. It also delves into the specific contents and relevance of different voluntary disclosure areas, including strategic and non-financial information.

Chapter 3 focuses on the supply-side factors influencing voluntary disclosure behaviour. It analyzes the regulatory environment, including relevant organizations and legal requirements, and explores the potential opportunities and disadvantages of voluntary disclosure for companies. The chapter also examines the effects of disclosure on capital markets and other stakeholders, such as management, employees, competitors, and customers.

Chapter 4 discusses the need for a better understanding of voluntary disclosure and identifies unresolved problems and hypotheses to examine. It also outlines the specific additional knowledge that the research aims to contribute.

Chapter 5 presents the research methodology, including the research site, research design, and data collection methods. It details the review of annual reports, the scoring of voluntary disclosure items, and the analysis of company characteristics. The chapter also presents the results of interviews with executives, exploring their perspectives on voluntary disclosure and the factors influencing their decisions.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include voluntary disclosure, strategic disclosure, non-financial disclosure, football industry, company characteristics, capital markets, regulatory environment, incentives, disincentives, and company performance.

• College: European School of Management and Technology, Berlin
• Grade: 1.7
• Author: Patrick Roy (Author)
• Publication Year: 2000
• Pages: 135
• Catalog Number: V185698
• ISBN (eBook): 9783656981404
• ISBN (Book): 9783867465755
• Language: English
• Tags: voluntary, disclosure, company, information, costly, additions, step, competitive, advantage, application, case, publicly, quoted, football, clubs, europe, sports, sport, fußball, publizität, wettbewerbsvorteil, freiwillig