ACCEPTANCE AND USAGE OF EXTENSIBLE BUSINESS REPORTING LANGUAGE: AN EMPIRICAL REVIEW

Abstract

Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a language based on XML that provides an effective solution for the preparation, presentation and exchange of International Financial Reporting Standards. Many researchers examined the adoption, acceptance or usage of XBRL but none have clarified a direct link between the acceptance of technology and how it affects XBRL users. So, a significant issue to answer is: What is the level of acceptance of XBRL in the European region? Particularly, a new acceptance model was developed based on Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) in order to test XBRL usage and its impact with five major constructs. The sample consists of 100 listed companies from European Union countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxemburg and Poland. The results reveal that a great number of companies in the European Union are satisfied with the output and the perspectives of XBRL acceptance and usage. The above argument is supported by the positive correlation found in this research among independent constructs and the dependent factors of XBRL acceptance and usage. Europe appears to be a strong supporter of XBRL technology, so non adopters of XBRL can use the results of this study and decide whether XBRL is a useful tool for them or not.