The Significance of 18 Weeks in Internet Business Reporting Research (IBR): A New Dimension in Data Collection Procedures

The present study intends to explore and ascertain the appropriate time interval in which the information on corporate website changes significantly. A sample of top 50 listed companies was drawn from five countries, namely the US, the UK, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. The quality of the internet business reporting (IBR) practices is measured using the IBR quality (IBRQ) index as it permits relevant quantification. This study involves careful examination of the time interval data within 9 and 18-week intervals. Initial analysis revealed that there was no significant difference on the quality of IBR practices within 9 internet-weeks but significant changes for website financial content, website non-financial content, and total score of the IBRQ within 18 internet-weeks. Nonetheless, further analysis involving developed and developing countries as well as individual country revealed diverse results. The present study offers new insight that complements the existing body of knowledge. The present findings are unable to provide conclusive evidence that the information on corporate websites changed significantly after 18 weeks. Nonetheless, this study demonstrates longitudinal analysis of increasing important website data trends with relevance to IBR practices.