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The influence of corporate governance characteristics on human capital disclosure: the moderating role of managerial ownership

Francisca Tejedo-Romero (Department of Business Administration, University of Castilla‐La Mancha, Albacete, Spain)
Joaquim Filipe Ferraz Esteves Araujo (School of Economics and Management, University of Minho - Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal)

Journal of Intellectual Capital

ISSN: 1469-1930

Article publication date: 5 September 2020

Issue publication date: 8 February 2022

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Abstract

Purpose

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the content and extent of human capital disclosure by Spanish companies. It studies various factors related to the board of directors’ composition and functioning. These factors can be seen as mechanisms of corporate governance and the moderating role of managerial ownership, which help predict the behaviour of managers in relation to the human capital disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

This study develops and applies a more comprehensive framework for coding information on human capital, integrating the intellectual capital and social responsibility perspectives in order to explain the content and extent of human capital disclosure. The research was based on a content analysis of 210 corporate reports from 2007 to 2016. A system-GMM estimator was used to test the hypotheses in four dynamic linear regression models of balanced panel data in order to address concerns of endogeneity.

Findings

The results show that companies are adapting to new regulations and voluntarily disclosing information on human capital – a trend which signals their commitment to responsible attitudes towards employees and stakeholders. The results also show that board composition and functioning are mechanisms of supervision, control and legitimacy that promote human capital disclosure, with managerial ownership acting as moderator for aligning interests between managers and stakeholders.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on human capital disclosure by introducing a broader conception of human capital to coding information. It accomplishes this through considering aspects of the intellectual capital and social responsibility approaches, which provide a better understanding of companies’ human capital disclosure. In addition, it seeks to enrich the debate about the effects of corporate governance mechanisms– such as boards of directors and managerial ownership – on human capital disclosure.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted at the Research Center in Political Science (UIDB/CPO/00758/2020), University of Minho/University of Évora and partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds.Funding: This study was partially supported by the Department of Business Administration - University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Citation

Tejedo-Romero, F. and Araujo, J.F.F.E. (2022), "The influence of corporate governance characteristics on human capital disclosure: the moderating role of managerial ownership", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 342-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-03-2019-0055

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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