Appendix 8A
Methodology for Website Coding

This Appendix describes the scoring methodology used to evaluate the websites of the Global 500 companies. We developed a unique scoring framework and Table 8A.1 presents the selected features, why they were chosen, and how data were collected. Website features were grouped into categories for scoring. Category names and our definition of each category follow:

  • Financial transparency. These items assess how much financial information is provided and how easy it is for the user to find.
  • Sustainability transparency. These items measure how much sustainability information is provided and how easy it is for the user to find.
  • Interactivity. These items assess the degree to which the user is able to engage with the website.
  • Connectivity. These items assess the degree of integration in the reporting of the company's financial and nonfinancial performance.
  • Utility. These items assess the availability of tools and formats provided to aid understanding and analysis of the company's data.

Table 8A.1 Website Coding Categories and Features

Category Feature Why the Feature Was Chosen How the Data Were Collected
Financial transparency Separate consumer and corporate site Many companies, especially retail, put all their corporate information in an “About Us” section that is extensive or they have separate sites. A separate site was identified by its use of a different URL, for example, www.thewaltdisneycompany.com and www.disney.com.
Financial transparency Multiple languages or global/regional presence Having a global web presence indicates a desire or need to reach customers or shareholders worldwide. Limitations: Entering a site from the U.S. brings up the “English” site. All effort was made to determine which languages were available. Where sites did not have an English option, Google translate through Chrome was used. Site provides an option to “change languages” or choose a regional or country-specific site. Most regional sites are in English and most investor sites of the other language sites are in English.
Financial transparency Other formats Users access websites from multiple devices. Does the site identify other formats such as mobile websites, iPad, iPhone, Android, and apps? Scoring was based on whether one of these other formats was available or not.
Financial transparency Webcasts Webcasts are popular ways for companies to include shareholders and stakeholders in earnings calls, analyst presentations, and other events. A “yes” was recorded if the company provided links to webcasts, audio casts or podcasts of presentations, earnings calls, etc.
Financial transparency Investor relations—individual contacts How easy it is to contact company investor relations' departments varies. Some companies are more transparent than others. A “yes” was recorded if the company provided names, pictures, email addresses, or phone numbers of the members of the investor relations' team.
Financial transparency Investor relations—general mailbox How easily one can contact the investor relations departments varies. Some companies are more transparent than others. A “yes” was recorded if there was a link to a phone number, email form, or general email address.
Financial transparency Investor relations FAQs Companies vary in providing shareholders with self-service information. A “yes” was recorded if there were FAQs located on the “Information for Shareholders” pages, Investors sections, or investor-related FAQs on the site.
Financial transparency Annual report archive The web allows for the ability to post many years of information in a cost-effective manner. The number of years for which annual reports were available was determined by subtracting the start year from 2012.
Financial transparency Path to investor relations' section Websites are designed with a specific strategy in mind for the location of all content. Location of content on a website is intentional. We compare the location of the investor relations information to that of sustainability information. The path to investor information was scored by taking the inverse of the number of steps from the homepage. For example, home/investors is two steps and was scored as .5. Companies with fewer steps received a higher score.
Financial transparency Annual reports in other languages Much like language use across the entire site, companies can offer documents in multiple languages. A “yes” was recorded if there were non-English versions available on the site.
Sustainability transparency Path to sustainability section Location of content on a website is intentional. We compared the location of the investor relations information to that of sustainability. The path to sustainability was scored by taking the inverse of the number of steps from the homepage. For example, home/investors is two steps and was scored as .5. Companies with fewer steps received a higher score
Sustainability transparency Substantive information provided on sustainability webpage Information provided about sustainability effort varies in substance and volume. A “yes” was recorded if the site provided data on key performance indicators (KPIs), information on initiatives, reports, etc. Sites with just a CSR report or public relations' information about philanthropy or marketing were not counted.
Sustainability transparency Path to sustainability report Companies vary in the location of their sustainability reporting. It is not always clearly visible on the sustainability or investor sections. The location of the Annual report is typically visible on the top investor relations page. The variability of the sustainability report warranted measuring. The path to the sustainability report was scored by taking the inverse of the number of steps from the homepage. For example, home/CSR/CSR report is three steps and is scored as .33. Companies with fewer steps received a higher score.
Sustainability transparency Sustainability report in other languages Much like annual reports, we wanted to see if reports were produced in other languages. A “yes” was recorded if non-English version available.
Sustainability transparency Sustainability archive The web allows for the ability to post many years of information in a cost-effective manner. The number of years for which sustainability reports were available was determined by subtracting the start year from 2012.
Sustainability transparency Sustainability standards/guidelines Companies can use the webpage to inform the user about which standard or guidelines they follow. For example, Global Reporting Initiative, UN Global Compact, and CDP. A “yes” was recorded if the standards or guidelines were mentioned in the sustainability section or through a search of the site.
Interactivity Social media Social media has spread as a corporate communication to reach customers and shareholders. Limitations: Some countries limit social media use or the company has made a choice not to participate. All prominently displayed links to various social media platforms were recorded. The number and type of social media outlets varied greatly. The ones noted were mostly located on the home page, investor relations page, or prominently displayed on the site. While major individual services were recorded, the number of services/outlet provided did not add to the score.
Interactivity Video Video enables a company to communicate to the user in a more “human voice.” A “yes” was recorded if the site prominently displayed one or more videos on the site on the home page, media page, or through a quick site search.
Interactivity Visitor type (survey of who the user is) Sites can deliver custom content based on the identity of the user. A “yes” was recorded if there was a mechanism on the site to identify the user. For example, “Are you a shareholder, student, journalist, etc.?”
Interactivity Feedback Site has the ability to gather feedback from the users about content and their experience using the website in order to make improvements. A “yes” was recorded if a pop-up survey appeared on the site or the site provided a prominent link for feedback. We did not consider the general “contact us” link as a feedback mechanism.
Interactivity Registration/Account Site asks the user to register for custom content or to access areas of a website. A “yes” was recorded if the site asked the user to register for content-newsletter, custom feeds of articles, etc. RSS feeds were not considered part of this category.
Connectivity Link from sustainability to investor relations We wanted to understand how the website links the two sections. A “yes” was recorded if there was a clear link from the sustainability page to the investor page.
Connectivity Link from investor relations to sustainability We wanted to understand how websites link the two sections. A “yes” was recorded if there was a clear link from the investor page to the sustainability page.
Connectivity Integrated report Does the company produce an integrated report? A “yes” was recorded if the company identified the report as an integrated report or displays “annual and sustainability report” in one document or provides language on the site that says they participate in integrated reporting.
Utility Investor tools There are many easy to use graphing and charting options available for companies to provide their users a way to look at data. A “yes” was recorded if the site provided any tools allowing the user to change inputs and manipulate data to produce a table, graph, or spreadsheet.
Utility Annual report as a .PDF Companies provide annual information in many forms, but we feel that the .PDF format provides the user with a portable form that is universally easy to read and to use. A “yes” was recorded if the annual report was provided in a downloadable .PDF format. 10-K fillings were not counted as .PDF annual reports as the Form 10-K in .PDF format does not add to the utility of the document.
Utility Sustainability report as a .PDF Companies provide sustainability information in many forms, but we feel that the .PDF format provides the user with a portable form that is universally easy to read and to use. A “yes” was recorded if there was a sustainability report and it was provided in a downloadable .PDF format. Many sustainability sites are microsites, but the report can be downloaded.
Utility Spreadsheet for financials Companies can provide multiple ways to make it easy for the user to download and manipulate financial information. A “yes” was recorded if an export-to-spreadsheet feature was provided.
Utility Games Sites can provide information and education through interactive games. A “yes” was recorded if the site contained a game that asks for a response from the user and provides information based on the response.
Utility Custom views The web allows for information to be parsed in custom ways. We wanted to see how companies were using these features. A “yes” was recorded if the user could pick and choose pieces of information and create a single new document.
Utility XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) We wanted to see if companies are using this technology to make data more usable to the user. A “yes” was recorded if the user could download the raw XBRL data.
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