The Moderating Role of Ownership Structure on the Relation between Board Independence and Voluntary Financial Disclosure: An Analysis of Italian Listed Company

Abstract

Voluntary disclosure and corporate governance variables, such as board independence and ownership structure are considered mechanisms useful to reduce information asymmetries between competing parties of the firms. This paper aims at investigating both the relationship between board independence and the quality of voluntary financial disclosure and how previous relationship is moderated by the level of ownership concentration. The analysis has been conducted on a sample of Italian non-financial listed companies. The results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between board independence and the quality of voluntary financial disclosure provided by companies. In addition, the findings reveal that ownership concentration plays a relevant moderating role in previous relationship. The results highlight the necessity to consider the interaction effects of different governance mechanisms, when studying corporate governance effectiveness.