The Two Faces of Voluntary Disclosure: Quality Improvement and Organizational Learning from Self‐reported Problems

Research suggests the promise of voluntary self‐reporting, given that organizational quality can be difficult to monitor. However, I explore opposing theoretical arguments regarding its impact. On one hand, self‐reported problems may motivate intensive investigation, resulting in subsequent improvement. However, self‐reports may instead represent relatively superficial impression management efforts, and their value to organizational performance may be more dubious. Associated hypotheses are tested on a longitudinal panel of nursing homes. Findings suggest that self‐reports generally detract from performance except when they are reinforced by other, complementary forms of experience. Contributions to organizational learning theory, institutional theory and regulatory policy are discussed.