Factors Impacting the Voluntary Disclosure of Information on Social and Environmental Perception Managers

The present study sought to identify, based on the Legitimacy Theory, which factors impact on the voluntary disclosure of social and environmental information in the perception of managers. In an attempt to achieve this goal, we developed a descriptive study, whose sample is composed of managers of five of the ten largest companies in the electricity sector of Brazil according to EXAME Magazine 2010. Data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed statistically using the nonparametric test of Kruskal-Wallis, whose purpose is to compare the average of the responses collected. The results showed that the main factors that impact the decision makers in the disclosure of social and environmental information are concerns about the image and reputation of the company, stock appreciation, opportunity for new finance sources and business competitiveness. Thus, this study sought to contribute to the discussion of the application of the legitimacy theory to explain the aspects related to voluntary disclosure of social and environmental information.