Social responsibility disclosure determinants by philanthropic higher education institutions

Purpose - This paper aims to explain the extent of social responsibility disclosure by Brazilian philanthropic higher education institutions (PHEIs). This paper assumes that there is information asymmetry between these organizations and their stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach - The presence of indicators on the organizations’ webpage generated a disclosure index for each PHEI of the sample. Afterwards, this paper performed regression tests, which identified the determinants of PHEIs social responsibility disclosure extent. Findings - The results support the legitimacy theory as a theoretical basis for social responsibility disclosure extent. The evidenced indicators and the non-rejected hypotheses, related to complexity, diversification, regional factor, specific event and quality, confirm the concern with transparency and accountability of commitments assumed by the social contract. Research limitations/implications - This research is limited to social responsibility disclosure related to the legitimacy theory and the interests of some stakeholders and to Brazilian PHEIs and their webpages. These limitations mean opportunities for future research studies addressing different information disclosure, foundations of other theories, interests of each specific stakeholder or other stakeholders in other communication channels and other countries, which enable comparisons of results. Practical implications - The disclosure of extent determinants serve as the basis for the establishment of disclosure and accountability policies for PHEIs. Originality/value - The originality of this research consists of analyzing the determinants of disclosure from the information of the stakeholders’ interest. They are able to legitimize organizations, allowing them to remain in the community where they operate.