An examination of web disclosure and organizational transparency

• We examined the problem of differential implementation of web disclosure.
• We conducted a complete web content analysis of 154 NPO websites.
• We found that the majority of NPO websites lacked high quality information.
• We suggest that organizational inertia may play a role in the adoption decision.

Web disclosure is a significant technological innovation aimed at improving organizational transparency. Organizations that voluntarily disclose high quality financial and performance information on their public websites are viewed as being more open, trustworthy, and accountable by the general public. Despite the positive benefit of enhanced public trust, many organizations have not implemented the recommended web disclosure principles and best practices. Informed by the theoretical underpinnings of organizational ecology theory, this study develops a theoretical model in order to examine the problem of differential implementation of web disclosure in nonprofit settings. Empirical evidence reveals that the majority of nonprofit websites lack high quality financial and performance information which reflects an opaque digital informative strategy. Our results further suggest that organizational inertia – particularly resistance to change in organizational form – may play an important role in the decision to voluntarily adopt and implement innovative web disclosure practices. The findings have implications for research and information systems design.