Value relevance of voluntary disclosure: evidence from Turkish firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not listed Turkish companies’ voluntary disclosure practices are value‐relevant in the capital market. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 129 manufacturing companies listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) for the year 2010. Data regarding voluntary disclosure level and other variables have been collected by analyzing the contents of annual reports. Through multiple regression analysis, the authors investigated whether or not voluntary disclosure level impacts firm value. Findings The main finding of the study is that voluntary disclosure is value‐relevant; i.e. impacts firm value. This implies that market participants value voluntary disclosure. The more information firms disclose voluntarily, the higher value they have in the eyes of investors. Therefore, this finding might be accepted as a signal to corporations to disclose more information to the stakeholders. However, the finding varied based on the dependent variable used; hence, the result was not supported by all models. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper are based on the study conducted on the ISE including manufacturing industry. Thus, the results might not be valid for non‐listed and non‐manufacturing companies. Originality/value There is a scarcity of studies regarding how the marketplace perceives voluntary disclosure. The paper evaluates comprehensively the value relevance of overall voluntary disclosure as well as of 12 sub‐categories of disclosure. It contributes to the relevant literature, particularly in an emerging market context.