O conceito de transparência empresarial

: reflexões a partir de uma meta-análise

Abstract

In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the use of the term "corporate transparency" in different contexts and with different purposes. The existence of several meanings for the same term may lead to disagreements on what is a transparent company and on what is expected of it. The aim of this study is to understand how the term “corporate transparency” has been treated in the literature, which are the meanings given to it and if it will be necessary to develop a consensual definition of corporate transparency. For that purpose, a meta-analysis was carried out from a sample of twenty-six articles published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade. The results indicate that authors often discuss the issue of transparency without defining it. 62% of analyzed articles presents a definition/approach of the term, but the results differ depending on the keywords used: corporate transparency, organizational transparency and business transparency. The perspective that was found more often in Academy was the process of dynamic interaction between companies and their stakeholders, going beyond the simple information disclosure. It concludes that rather than discussing the consensus of the term, it seems to be more useful to analyze proficiency levels of transparency. With this, the thesis can solve, in part, the academic discussion of different perspectives. In addition, the dissertation clarifies the importance of the concept’s meaning and highlights the risks of its abusive use.

Date of Award	30 Nov 2016
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Helena Maria da Silva Maia de Castro Gonçalves (Supervisor)