Technology Transparency in Annual Reports : An Analysis of Non-Financial Reporting

Sammanfattning

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate how companies report non-financial information and specifically volatile subjects such as technology. There are several different new technologies that all have different maturities which can affect how they are reported in annual reports. This thesis aims to understand how reporting of technology is affected by innovation, investments and stakeholder expectations. Theoretical perspectives: Stakeholder theory has been used as a primary theoretical background and framework, in conjunction with agency theory to gain a deeper theoretical understanding of non-financial reporting. Methodology: 30 annual reports from five years (2018-2022) and six tech-companies listed on the Swedish stock market have been content analysed with the use of a variation of keyword frequency analysis. The sample companies represent different segments within the tech-industry to provide the thesis with a wider perspective. Furthermore, the method of this thesis has been a mixture between a positivist ontology with constructivist epistemology and the chosen theories has been used in an abductive manner where findings are reflected against the theories. Additionally, the method of data collection has been a mixture between quantitative and qualitative methods, where qualitative data has been quantified and analysed graphically. Findings: The findings indicate that the sample companies seem to be aware of their stakeholders' perception of them as tech-companies, which affect how they report on technology. It is likely that tech-companies increasingly report on new technologies to maintain their perception as tech-companies. Furthermore, the findings suggest that companies report more heavily on technologies when investments into the given technology have been made. The findings are in line with concepts from both agency theory and stakeholder theory.