Comparison of Social Responsibility Information Disclosure Media Used by Canadian Firms Available to Purchase

This study examines the social responsibility information disclosed through mass media vehicles by Canadian companies operating in the banking and petroleum industries. The analysis compares disclosures,made through mass media vehicles such as magazine, radio and television advertisements and company brochures, with those made through the company′s annual reports. Results indicated that the mass media vehicles were used extensively, but that they provided less information in the quantitative and monetary form than did the annual reports. In addition,information provided through the mass media vehicles dealt with only a few information categories. Comparison across the firms by industry indicated that there was a large interfirm difference in the usage of these media for making social disclosure. It is, therefore, felt that annual reports alone perhaps do not adequately represent the information disclosure activities of a firm or an industry.