IT-Enabled Corporate Governance: the Characteristics and Determinants of Web-based Corporate Governance Disclosures

Sophisticated information technologies allow companies to provide stakeholders with more transparency. Web-based disclosures have the advantages of low cost, mass reach, frequency and speed, and yet the extent of Internet disclosure varies across companies and industries. Drawing on interdisciplinary work in information technology and corporate governance, in this paper, the authors examine the S&P 100 companies' use of the Web for corporate governance information disclosure and analyze the association between the Web disclosing practice and firm attributes. Their findings support the proposition that Web-based disclosure decisions were associated with various firm specific attributes. This study has implications for the strategic role of the Internet and Web in disclosure and transparency.