Is the information revealed through the company’s website a valuable resource for stakeholders and the public? Can it really mitigate the information asymmetry? And, do the situations differ between private and public firms?
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These questions are addressed by Boulland, Bourveau & Breuer, who examine firm disclosure based on the size and content of historical websites archived by the Wayback Machine.
The authors tested U.S. public firms (positive correlation with existing disclosure proxies, negative association with bid-ask spreads).
They also demonstrate the website’s potential in two settings where traditional measures fall short: private firms (2.8+ million firms) and non-financial disclosure (French gender equality mandate).
It is found that firms with larger websites have lower information asymmetry, and private firms that disclose more on their sites are more likely to attract private equity funding.
Building a website‑based disclosure measure
Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has periodically crawled and stored snapshots of nearly all existing websites. The authors collect historical URL records via an API, retrieving for each firm: list of URLs, timestamp, size (bytes), and mime‑type (HTML, images, PDF, etc.). The main measure is Website Size = log(total size in bytes) – a simple, scalable proxy for the quantity of information disclosed.
Content‑based measures
- URL string classification: keywords (investor, careers, products) → content categories: PSP (Product/Strategy/Processes), IR (Investor Relations), Geography, Human Resources.
- Full‑text analysis: bag‑of‑words for ESG and custom keywords.
- Components: text (HTML), media (images/videos), applications (PDF, Word, Excel, Java).
Validating website size as a disclosure proxy
- Table 3, Panel B: Website size positively related to management forecasts (coef 0.027, p<0.01), voluntary 8‑K filings (0.038, p<0.01), disclosure quality (0.018, p<0.05) and gross 10‑K size (0.021, p<0.01) after firm FE.
- Table 4: Bid‑ask spread regressions: coefficient on Website Size = –0.064 (p<0.001) with firm FE and controls. Remains negative and significant after controlling for each extant disclosure measure separately.
- Interpretation: Website size captures similar variation as traditional disclosure metrics and additionally reflects disclosure targeted at non‑investor audiences.
What explains website size and content?
Components and time trends
- Websites consist mostly of text (≈45%), followed by applications (≈28%) and media (≈21%). Media share increases over time.
- PDF files dominate applications, followed by Java and Flash (Flash disappears after 2017).
Content categories by industry
- PSP (product/strategy): highest in agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale trade.
- IR (investor relations): highest in finance, insurance, real estate.
- Human resources: highest in education and healthcare.
- Geography: highest in retail, accommodation, food services (store locations).
Application 1: private firms (U.S., 2.8 million firms)
Private firms rarely disclose financial statements publicly; no EDGAR equivalent. Yet they use websites to reach investors, customers, and employees. The website‑based measure works for almost any firm with a URL.
Key finding: website disclosure and private equity
- OLS regression (Table 6, Panel C): Website size coefficient = 0.015 (p<0.001) with industry FE, revenue, and employment controls.
- A 10% increase in website size is associated with a ≈2.6% increase in the likelihood of a private equity transaction (relative to the very low baseline).
- The result holds for a size‑matched subsample and for a panel of U.K. private firms (with financial controls and firm FE).
Content differences vs. public firms
- Private firms talk relatively more about products (PSP) and less about investor relations (IR) – intuitive given their concentrated investor base.
- Cross‑industry variation mirrors public firms (e.g., manufacturing = PSP, finance = IR).
Application 2: French gender equality mandate
Public firms and large private firms (≥250 employees) must publish their Gender Equality Index score on the company website (in addition to submitting to the Department of Labor). The authors measure compliance and prominence using Wayback Machine archives (2023).
Strategic non‑disclosure (only among private firms)
- Pooled sample (Table 7, Panel B): Higher Gender Equality Index scores → higher compliance (coef 0.028, p<0.01) and more prominent placement (coef 0.070, p<0.05).
- Public vs. private split (Panel C): For private firms, the index score strongly predicts compliance (coef 0.039, p<0.001) and prominence (coef 0.089, p<0.01). For public firms, the association is small and statistically insignificant.
- Private firms with worse gender equality scores strategically avoid website disclosure or bury it on sub‑pages. Public firms do not show this strategic behavior.
Implications
- Mandates that rely on website disclosure are not uniformly enforced; private firms are both less compliant and more strategic.
- Extrapolating public firm responses to private firms can be misleading – a key insight for ESG regulation.
What the measure enables: contributions and roadmap
- Novel, scalable disclosure measure applicable to both public and private firms (no reliance on SEC filings).
- Rich historical panel (1997‑2020, quarterly) using Wayback Machine archives.
- Customizable content analysis (URL strings, full text, components) to study specific topics (ESG, products, HR, geography).
- First large‑scale evidence on private firms’ website disclosure and its association with private equity transactions.
- Demonstrates strategic (non)compliance with nonfinancial mandates, highlighting that private firms behave differently from public ones.
- Available for millions of private firms
- Captures non‑investor audiences (customers, employees, suppliers)
- Allows content‑specific measurement (e.g., ESG, product pages)
- Not limited to mandatory filings (EDGAR)
- Quarterly frequency, long time series (since 1997)
- Wayback Machine crawl frequency varies (but authors use quarterly aggregation to mitigate bias)
- Measurement error for firms that change URL domains (COMPUSTAT only reports latest domain)
- Size is a quantity measure – does not directly capture usefulness or readability
- Requires parsing large datasets (155 GB for public firms alone)
Future research directions
- ESG and social disclosure: Use website text to measure climate commitments, diversity policies, supply chain transparency.
- Private firm dynamics: Study how private firms adjust disclosure before IPOs, private equity rounds, or debt financing.
- Stakeholder-specific disclosure: Examine how firms tailor content for customers vs. investors vs. job applicants.
- Regulatory enforcement: Investigate compliance with website‑based disclosure mandates across countries and firm types.
- Cross‑country comparisons: Apply the same measure to firms in different regulatory environments (e.g., Europe vs. Asia).
Conclusion
Boulland, Bourveau & Breuer introduce a powerful, versatile measure of disclosure that works for nearly any firm with a website. By validating it against traditional proxies and demonstrating its value in private‑firm and nonfinancial settings, they open up a vast research landscape beyond the public capital market lens. The Wayback Machine archives provide a historical panel that can be extended forward in time, making this measure a lasting resource for accounting, finance, and strategy scholars.
Full reference
Boulland, R., Bourveau, T., & Breuer, M. (2025). Company websites: A new measure of disclosure. Journal of Accounting Research, 63(1), 81–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.70007
Data & materials: Wayback Machine API, COMPUSTAT, CRSP, IBES, EDGAR, Orbis (Bureau van Dijk), Zephyr, French Department of Labor. Replication code and data available via the Journal of Accounting Research.
This summary is for educational and commentary purposes. All findings are accurately represented from the original article. Copyright © Journal of Accounting Research, 2025.
