Human resources disclosure among companies in Czechia

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to investigate voluntary human resources disclosure (hereinafter referred to as “HR disclosure”) by the largest companies domiciled in Czechia. The key research questions are: What is the quantity of disclosure on various topics related to HR? Is there a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies? Which factors influence the quantity of HR disclosure?

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative content analysis (CA) of annual reports of the 50 largest companies domiciled in Czechia was used. An established coding scheme is used to code annual reports, and subsequently, various statistical methods (descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression) are used to answer the key research questions.

Findings

Primarily, social information is reported (what a company does for its employees) as information on the contribution of employees to the company’s value is rudimentary. Secondly, there is a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies. Finally, the findings of the regression analysis confirm the impact of presence on the stock exchange and size and on the quantity of HR disclosure.

Research limitations/implications

The annual reports of 50 companies from one country are analysed. The study provides a basis for further research.

Practical implications

The findings of this study may inspire companies to improve their HR disclosure, while policymakers should consider imposing more concrete demands on HR disclosure.

Originality/value

Quantitative CA research into the HR disclosure of companies domiciled in Czechia is nearly non-existent. This study fills this gap.

Citation

Petera, P. and Wagner, J. (2017), "Human resources disclosure among companies in Czechia", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 743-761. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-07-2017-0123