Stakeholders influence on voluntary disclosure practices by listed companies in Nigeria: An investigation of managers’ perception

The purpose of this paper is to investigate stakeholders influence on voluntary disclosure practices of listed firms in Nigeria from the perspective of managers.

The study used a cross-sectional research design. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire for the constructs of power, legitimacy and urgency. The data for the voluntary disclosure practices were obtained from financial reports of 92 listed companies. The data were analysed using partial least squares.

The results indicate that managers’ perception of stakeholders’ power and urgency are associated with voluntary disclosure. Legitimacy, firm size and industrial category are not significant predictors of voluntary disclosure. It was concluded that stakeholders who are in control of critical resources such as the financial community, customers and creditors should put more pressure on companies to disclose information to meet various stakeholder needs. This will complement the efforts of regulatory agencies in promoting transparency in voluntary disclosure.

The cross-sectional nature of the study means that it does not capture changes in perceptions of managers overtime. Future research may consider a longitudinal study. The study is not industry-specific as such and may capture industry differences. However, in this study, the authors controlled for industry category.

The result has implications for a number of interested parties such as shareholders, regulatory bodies, labour union, academics and mangers.

The study has contributed to the authors’ understanding of managers’ perception of stakeholder attributes that matter in voluntary disclosure decision from the perspective of a developing country like Nigeria.