ABSTRACT

Recent regulatory initiatives, such as the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the UK Companies Act, require companies to mobilise the business model concept as a framework to disclose non-financial information in the annual report. These regulatory initiatives are based on a reflexive legal approach that avoids specifying what should be disclosed or articulating minimum disclosure requirements. In this context, this study investigates whether and to what extent preparers and users of non-financial information have a shared understanding of the business model concept and its role in reporting. An exploratory survey was conducted involving 35 users and 13 preparers, followed by 13 in-depth interviews, with both stages of research conducted from Searle's perspective of institutional reality. The findings present a somewhat divergent picture, indicating a lack of widespread consensus around a specific definition of a business model, its constitutive elements, and its reporting function. Thus, we conclude that the business model remains a concept under social construction in this domain and highlights areas of intervention. This study contributes to the existing literature by discussing how the absence of a common definition might hinder the otherwise positive effects of business model disclosure regulation from enhancing corporate transparency. Archival studies on business model reporting generally show low levels of disclosure, indicating poor informativeness. Our evidence adds to the accounting literature by considering the role of a shared view of the business model among market participants as a determinant of business model reporting quality and informativeness.

摘要

最近的监管举措，例如欧盟非财务报告指令和英国公司法，要求公司利用商业模式概念作为在年度报告中披露非财务信息的框架。这些监管举措基于反思性法律方法，避免指定应披露的内容或阐明最低披露要求。在此背景下，本研究调查非财务信息的编制者和使用者是否以及在多大程度上对商业模式概念及其在报告中的作用有共同的理解。一项涉及 35 名用户和 13 名编制者的探索性调查，随后进行了 13 次深度访谈，这两个阶段的研究都是从塞尔的机构现实角度进行的。研究结果呈现出有些不同的情况，表明围绕商业模式的具体定义、其构成要素及其报告功能缺乏广泛的共识。因此，我们得出的结论是，商业模式仍然是该领域社会建构中的一个概念，并突出了干预领域。本研究通过讨论缺乏共同定义可能如何阻碍商业模式披露监管对提高公司透明度的积极影响，对现有文献做出了贡献。对商业模式报告的档案研究普遍显示披露水平较低，表明信息量较差。我们的证据通过考虑市场参与者对商业模式的共同看法作为商业模式报告质量和信息性的决定因素的作用，补充了会计文献。