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Drivers for the proactive online disclosure of information in the NGO sector: the Colombian case

María del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez (Department of Economics and Business, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain)
Carmen Caba-Perez (Department of Economics and Business, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain)
Manuel López-Godoy (Department of Economics and Business, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain)

Online Information Review

ISSN: 1468-4527

Article publication date: 9 September 2014

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze drivers for the proactive disclosure of information via the web in Colombian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a strategy for fostering their legitimacy and responding to the institutional pressure to which they are subjected.

Design/methodology/approach

The web sites of 196 NGOs from Colombia have been analyzed, first, via an Online Transparency Index that is consistent with Cronbach α coefficient and later, by performing a Tobit regression analysis.

Findings

The proactive online disclosure of information in Colombian NGOs is very low. In spite of the high distrust of the resource management they receive, the financial information is the least aspect disclosed in their web pages. In addition, the larger NGOs are the entities that most disclose information via their web site. Likewise, the factors of “internationalization”, “donations”, “community services” and “dependence on voluntary work” show a positive effect on certain aspects of the online disclosure of information analyzed.

Practical implications

The lack of web use as a strategy for a proactive disclosure of information is clearly observed. Therefore, both obligatory and voluntary accountability mechanisms should be more aware of the need for fostering the benefits of a web site, as being transparent in a proactive manner will increase trust in this sector.

Originality/value

As the majority of the research papers related to online disclosure are focused on the corporate and public sector, this study addresses the issue of the NGO sector and particularly aims to contribute to the scarce literature regarding web use of entities from developing countries.

Keywords

Citation

del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez, M., Caba-Perez, C. and López-Godoy, M. (2014), "Drivers for the proactive online disclosure of information in the NGO sector: the Colombian case", Online Information Review, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 769-787. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-05-2014-0113

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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