The Association of Board Independence and Ownership Concentration with Voluntary Disclosure: A Meta-analysis

• Published in: The European accounting review Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 603 - 627
• Main Authors: García-Meca, Emma, Sánchez-Ballesta, Juan P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 01-09-2010; Taylor and Francis Journals; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Series: European Accounting Review
• Subjects: Boards of directors; Corporate finance; Corporate governance; Disclosure; Financial accounting; Financial management; Financial reporting; Ownership and control; Senior management; Studies; Europe
• ISSN: 0963-8180; 1468-4497
• DOI: 10.1080/09638180.2010.496979

In this paper we apply meta-analysis to a sample of 27 empirical studies to clarify the association of board independence and ownership concentration with voluntary disclosure. We examine whether variations in results are attributable to the differences in the corporate governance system, the investor protection rights and the measurement of the governance variables. The findings show that the positive association between board independence and voluntary disclosure only occurs in those countries with high investor protection rights. The findings emphasize the need to consider the legal and institutional setting explicitly when analysing the effect of corporate governance on voluntary disclosure.