Risk disclosure and firm operational efficiency

This paper examines the effect of risk disclosure on firm operational efficiency using a unique database of non-financial, and non-utility French firms belonging to the SBF 120 index over the period 2007–2015. In a first step, we use a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) output-oriented Variable Returns to Scale model to determine firm operational efficiency scores based on one output (i.e., sales revenue) and three inputs (i.e., net property, plant, and equipment, cost of goods sold, and selling, general, and administrative costs). These scores are used in a second step to estimate the effect of risk disclosure on operational efficiency after controlling for a set of other factors. The empirical results show a statistically significant positive relationship between risk disclosure and operational efficiency, suggesting that firms tend to be relatively more efficient when they disclose more about the risks they are exposed to. Overall, we provide evidence that firms having higher risk disclosure are seen by stakeholders to be more credible and trustworthy, leading them to conduct better transactions and, consequently, to improve their operational efficiency. This is consistent with the notion that stackholders positively perceive transparent firms, in particular those revealing bad news.