Voluntary disclosure of non-financial information: The case of family and non-family businesses in Italy

This paper conducts an empirical analysis using two distinct indicators of voluntary disclosure, one focusing upon research and development (R&D) and the other on strategy, and, in this way, reveals that when quoted Italian firms (family and non-family) increase the intensity of their R&D activity, they also increase voluntary disclosure of information about both R&D and strategy, but the different attitude towards the two components of voluntary disclosure is demonstrated by the behaviour of the two types of firms. In particular, family firms are more inclined to increase the component of information on strategy and much less on R&D. The empirical results support the hypotheses that suggest that the importance and usefulness of providing accurate information about firm strategies is much higher in family governance than in managerial governance. Therefore, the paper makes a contribution to the topic of voluntary disclosure and the different forms of behaviour that family and non-family firms adopt in this regard.