Integrated reporting and shareholder value creation: International evidence

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between integrated reporting and shareholder value creation of public companies in 39 countries, between 2011 and 2018. The integrated report has emerged as a means of meeting the different information needs of stakeholders, but as its presentation is voluntary, there is little information about the different ways of integrating this information and its relationship with the value creation process of companies, a gap that this study seeks to fill. Considering the integrated report in general format (RG) and the specific frameworks of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Reporting and Connectivity Council (IRCC), we present three effects on shareholder value creation: information asymmetry, stock price synchronicity, and earnings predictability. This study expands academic knowledge on the effects of the adoption of different integrated report formats, but can also help policymakers make decisions related to the imposition of forms of disclosure. For companies, it provides evidence that integrated reporting can be used as a market differentiation tool. Firms were grouped into three subsamples using the propensity score matching (PSM) method and their data were analyzed using multilevel regressions and difference-in-differences models. Our findings show that after the adoption of a general integrated report, shareholders gain value in the three selected perspectives (information asymmetry, stock synchronicity, and earnings predictability), mainly for companies located in developed countries. It is not the adoption of a specific disclosure format that matters, but the implementation of an integrated reporting process for financial and non-financial information. Thus, the adoption of integrated reports cannot be reduced to a symbol of legitimization, as it creates value for the shareholder regardless of the framework adopted.