Categorization of Financial Information Users: An Approach Based on Content Analysis
Keywords:
User Categorization, Financial Information, Content AnalysisAbstract
Introduction: The way in which users access, interpret, and use information varies considerably depending on their specific characteristics, needs, and objectives. Understanding this diversity is essential for improving the quality, accessibility, and relevance of available financial content.
Objective: The study aimed to categorize users of financial information.
Method: The list of users proposed in the conceptual frameworks of the International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles is used as a reference. The analysis conducted enables the identification of variables related to accounting recipients in companies’ annual reports, allowing us to distinguish between users and propose new categorizations based on their characteristics.
Results: The findings obtained through content analysis reveal the existence of clearly differentiated profiles among users of financial information, confirming the relevance of a typological approach to understanding this phenomenon. This differentiation demonstrates that the differences among users are not limited to their level of financial knowledge, but also encompass the frequency of consultation, preferred access channels, and the critical ability to evaluate the quality and reliability of the sources consulted.
Conclusion: It is demonstrated that users of financial information constitute a heterogeneous universe that cannot be reduced to simplistic categories, and that a deep understanding of them requires rigorous methodological approaches capable of capturing the complexity of their informational behaviors.
Empirical Contribution: The proposed categorization represents a substantial advance over previous classifications available in the literature by integrating multiple dimensions of information behavior into a coherent, systematic, and empirically grounded typological structure.
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