Level of voluntary disclosure and market value: An applied study on companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange

Abstract

Voluntary disclosure is viewed as an essential communication tool through which the company's ideas can be promoted to potential stakeholders, which contributes to achieving the company's growth and sustainability. This study came to reveal the reality of voluntary disclosure in the Jordanian industrial companies and its impact on its market value. The descriptive-analytical approach was adopted, where content analysis of the financial reports published by 72 industrial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange during the period (2016-2022). The study found that the level of disclosure of non-financial items included the aspects of the board of directors, social responsibility, and community policy were high, which reached 56%, compared to the level of disclosure of financial items, which reached 43%. This indicates that companies pay more attention to disclosing non-financial items than financial items. In addition, the study indicated that companies with a high level of voluntary disclosure have a better market value compared to those companies that have not disclosed or have a lower level of disclosure. Moreover, increasing voluntary disclosure of strategic information, financial information, and non-financial information increases the market-to-book value, because voluntary disclosure enhances the information available to investors about shares, which in turn improves the market value.