Corporate governance disclosure by Italian universities: an empirical analysis of the determinants

Purpose – Accountability and transparency represent two concepts that are gaining more and more importance in the higher education systems. Universities are increasingly called upon to provide both financial and non-financial information. This circumstance has attracted the interest of academics interested in examining the transparency levels of universities. However, limited attention has been paid to corporate governance disclosure. This study aims to bridge this important gap by analyzing the amount of corporate governance information disseminated by Italian universities through their website and the factors capable of influencing this level of disclosure. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses manual content analysis on a sample of 92 Italian universities to measure the extent of corporate governance information dissemination. In addition, it uses various regression models to test the research hypotheses. Findings – Empirical results demonstrate, first, an adequate commitment to online corporate governance disclosure and, second, a greater propensity toward the dissemination of corporate governance information by the largest and public universities. Originality/value – The findings greatly enrich the academic literature and have important practical implications for universities, policymakers, and lawmakers.