What the study found
The study found that firms with more extensive and higher-quality financial reporting were more likely to win government contracts in competitive Japanese tenders. It also found no such relationship in non-competitive tenders, and political connections appeared to weaken the disclosure–procurement link.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that formal transparency can matter for public procurement under institutional constraints. They suggest that improving financial reporting transparency may help fairness and efficiency in procurement by reducing agency costs, and that political influence creates risks that may call for regulatory reform.
What the researchers tested
The researchers examined how financial reporting quantity and quality related to government procurement outcomes in Japan. Using procurement data from 2020 and 2021, they analyzed 4,955 firm-years of listed companies winning 6,870 central government tenders and used probit, ordinary least squares, and tobit regressions, with instrumental variables and propensity score matching as robustness checks.
What worked and what didn't
Greater reporting quantity and higher-quality reporting were associated with a higher likelihood of winning contracts in competitive tenders. The study did not find this effect in non-competitive tenders. Political connections weakened the disclosure–procurement relationship, which the authors describe as a substitution effect.
What to keep in mind
The summary provided does not describe detailed limitations beyond the study's focus on Japanese central government tenders in 2020 and 2021. The results are specific to the data, methods, and institutional setting described in the abstract.
Key points
- Firms with greater and higher-quality financial reporting were more likely to win competitive government tenders.
- No disclosure effect was found for non-competitive tenders.
- Political connections weakened the link between disclosure and procurement success.
- The study used Japanese central government tender data from 2020 and 2021.
- Robustness checks included instrumental variables and propensity score matching.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Higher-quality disclosure is linked to more contract wins in competitive tenders
- Authors:
- Yoshinori Shimada
- Institutions:
- Saitama University
- Publication date:
- 2026-01-07
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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