Bridging the Gap Between Legitimacy and Voluntary Disclosure Theory and Current Corporate Nonfinancial Reporting Practices: Insights From Japanese Companies

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to bridge the gap between conventional assumptions of legitimacy and voluntary disclosure theories and current practices of corporate nonfinancial reporting. The analysis conducts regressions using data on 244 Japanese companies in 2019 to clarify whether the triadic relationship between a company's nonfinancial reporting motivation and practices and user information satisfaction is consistent. It contributes to the literature by showing that conventional assumptions have limitations in explaining the triadic relationship and identifying the mechanism underpinning how corporate nonfinancial reporting functions. First, although companies are more motivated by financial accountability than legitimacy in nonfinancial reporting, these motivations are not directly opposing, but are instead relative. Second, even when the financial accountability and legitimacy motivations are clear, they do not consistently satisfy user information needs. Finally, companies fulfil the financial accountability role only after they fulfil the legitimacy role.