ABSTRACT

The not-for-profit literature has not fully explored the decision-usefulness of financial disclosures with respect to the public’s donation intentions. Engaging with this lacuna, this study proposes that reputation and trust serve as important causal links between donors’ perceptions of the decision-usefulness of financial disclosures and their donation intentions. The study adopts the theory of planned behaviour and applies structural equation modelling to 400 useable responses from an Australian survey. The study finds: (1) a strong link between financial disclosures which donors perceive as decision-useful and their perception of the reputation of the reporting not-for-profit organisation (NFP), (2) a close association between donors’ perception of the reputation of an NFP (that is, their behavioural belief) and their trust in the organisation (their attitude), and (3) a significant link between donors’ trust in an NFP and hence their attitude towards the organisation with respect to their donation intentions. These results imply that the decision-usefulness of an NFP’s financial disclosures make donors more inclined to donate to the NFP via the impact of disclosures on donors’ perceptions of reputation and thence trustworthiness. In addition to contributing to the emergent NFP literature on disclosures and giving behaviour, these findings inform financial disclosure policies and practice by furthering the case for decision-useful financial disclosures among NFPs.

摘要

非营利性文献尚未充分探讨财务披露对公众捐赠意向的决策有用性。针对这一缺陷，本研究提出声誉和信任是捐赠者对财务披露决策有用性的看法与其捐赠意图之间的重要因果联系。该研究采用计划行为理论，并将结构方程模型应用于来自澳大利亚调查的 400 个可用响应。研究发现：(1) 捐助者认为对决策有用的财务披露与他们对报告非营利组织 (NFP) 声誉的看法之间存在密切联系，(2) 捐助者对NFP 的声誉（即，他们的行为信念）和他们对组织的信任（他们的态度），以及 (3) 捐赠者对 NFP 的信任与他们在捐赠意向方面对组织的态度之间存在重要联系。这些结果意味着 NFP 财务披露的决策有用性使捐助者更倾向于向 NFP 捐款通过披露对捐助者对声誉的看法以及可信度的影响。除了为有关披露和捐赠行为的新兴 NFP 文献做出贡献之外，这些发现还通过进一步说明 NFP 之间对决策有用的财务披露的情况，为财务披露政策和实践提供了信息。