Theories applied in corporate voluntary disclosure: a literature review

PurposeThis paper attempts to review the corporate voluntary disclosure (CVD) from the theoretical perspective as well as propose a conceptual framework.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers use structural literature review technique. The sample literature consisting of 55 articles was extracted from the Scopus database over the period of 2017–2021.FindingsThe literature observes that the legitimacy, agency and stakeholder theories are most applied in CVD related studies than the other theories. It is also revealed that researchers need to concentrate more studies on those theories of CVD that have been applied in a limited study such as neo-institutional, signaling, resource dependence, political economy and impression management theories.Practical implicationsThe findings can help the understanding of parties such as practitioners', regulators and potential investors of the theories in CVD from a combined and comprehensive view.Social implicationsThe results of the study offer new insights into the potential impact of organizational level and country level theories in CVD from different perspectives of developed and developing countries.Originality/valueThis study delivers an inclusive literature review of the current study approach on the theories of CVD and highlights some stimulating guidelines for future study.