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

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 a 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.