Search results

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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

This study is aimed at developing and validating an index designed to measure the level of social disclosure of external social programs of firms listed on the Brazilian stock market.

The index of social disclosure is composed of 13 items distributed in three dimensions: past information, prospective actions, and accessibility. Its validation involved: (a) pre-test, (b) analysis by referees, (c) exploratory factor analysis, (d) Cronbach’s alpha test, and (e) final validation. The sample is composed of 83 Brazilian firms listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2009.

The index presented robustness in all validation stages. It was found that size, industry sector, internationalization, auditing, and listing on social responsible investment funds are decisive factors for increasing the level of social disclosure.

The index of social disclosure evaluates external social programs only. Hence, some types of social information are not captured, such environmental ones. Besides, the sources of information for the index are restricted to annual and sustainability reports, so that information from other sources, such as official announcements and company websites, are not captured.

The social disclosure index developed can be useful to analysts and investors assessing listed firms, as well as to financial-market regulators defining policies applicable to the disclosure of corporate social information.

(a) Construction of a social disclosure index validated and tested in Brazilian firms, which is liable to replication; (b) Utilization of a representative sample of firms listed on an important emerging stock market.

In recent years there has been increasing focus on the importance of intellectual capital disclosure. The major resources of the football industry are human ‐ the players (as well as coaches and management) and supporters, yet the traditional accounting framework is largely ineffective in capturing these ‘hidden’ values. This paper reviews research on the quality and extent to which 19 listed professional English football clubs are reporting intellectual capital in their annual reports for the 2002 period. A disclosure index was developed and applied, giving scores for categories of disclosure and for the football clubs. The research findings suggest that components of intellectual capital were poorly reported by listed professional football clubs. External capital reporting was the highest scoring category, followed by human capital. However internal capital reporting scored the lowest. The research findings indicated a positive significant correlation between the size of clubs, club performance and their overall intellectual capital disclosure, in line with previous research in different industries. In conclusion, the importance of intellectual capital is recognized in the football industry as evidenced by the quality and quantity of IC disclosure by some clubs. However, the variability in reporting of different components of intellectual capital suggests that there is considerable room for improvement if the key resources of the football industry are to be truly reflected in the accounting system.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent and quality of intellectual capital disclosures (ICDs) in the annual reports of the New Zealand local government sector.

This paper makes use of an ICD index constructed through a participatory stakeholder consultation process to develop a disclosure index which measures the extent and quality intellectual capital reporting in the 2004/2005 annual reports of 82 local government authorities in New Zealand. The final index comprised 26 items divided into three categories: internal, external and human capital.

The results indicate that the reporting of intellectual capital by local government authorities is varied. The most reported items were joint ventures/business collaborations and management processes, while the least reported items were intellectual property and licensing agreements. The most reported category of intellectual capital was internal capital, followed by external capital. Human capital was the least reported category.

There are a number of limitations associated with this study. First the research covered only one year (2004/2005) which makes it difficult to draw any trend conclusions. Second, differing legal reporting requirements may make it difficult to compare findings of this research with findings of research conducted in other jurisdictions. The final limitation of this study is its exploratory nature of this research and the use of a disclosure index to measure disclosure levels.

The results in this paper indicate that local authorities are disclosing some aspects of intellectual capital in their annual reports. However, there is no consistent reporting framework and many areas of ICDs do not meet stakeholder expectations.

This paper is unique in that it is the first study to make use of an ICD index to examine intellectual capital reporting by local government authorities.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a framework of accounting theoretical bases that could promote research into little understood areas of human capital accounting.

The possible forces that hinder greater disclosure of human capital‐based information are analyzed by reviewing several theoretical viewpoints that offer a framework of different possible reasons for the low frequency of human capital‐based disclosures.

The paper explores several possible reasons for the reluctance of firms to disclose greater amounts of human capital‐based information, from the perspective of relevant theoretical bases. The predominant reasons may differ in different circumstances, industries and environments.

The paper explores theoretical bases that explain the barriers to widespread reporting of human capital‐based information. The theoretical bases discussed are not empirically validated.

The validation of the theoretical bases explored in this study, and the possible uncovering of new bases in the future through empirical studies, will enable academics, policy makers and accounting standard setters to better understand the reasons for the limited disclosures of human capital‐based information by listed firms to capital markets. This will help in the promulgation of widely accepted accounting standards for the disclosure of human capital‐based information, which address and overcome the forces that currently hinder the reporting of human capital‐based information.

This is the first paper that explores a framework of several pertinent theoretical viewpoints that specifically address the non‐disclosures of human capital‐based information to capital markets.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and quality of online intellectual capital (IC) disclosure released via websites and social media in relation to university stakeholders’ information needs in Spanish public universities. In addition, this paper examines whether there are differences in the online IC disclosure according to the type of university.

The study applies content analysis and a survey. The content analysis was used to analyse the websites and social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) of all Spanish public universities in the year 2019, whereas the survey was submitted to all members of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities.

The findings indicate that university stakeholders attach great importance to online disclosure of specific information about IC. However, the findings emphasise that Spanish universities’ website and social media content are still in their infancy. Specifically, this study found that the quality of disclosed information on IC in public universities’ websites is of low level, particularly with regard to the disclosure of relational capital. The study found that the information provided by Spanish public universities via social media mainly concerns the structural and relational capital. Likewise, the results of this paper evidence that the larger and more internationally focused universities reveal more online information on IC.

The results of the research may be beneficial for managers of higher education institutions as a basis for developing adequate strategies addressing IC disclosure through the websites. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher-quality information on financial relations, students’ satisfaction, quality standard, work-related knowledge/know-how and collaboration between universities and other organisations such as firms, local government and society as a whole.

This study explores two innovative tools to provide IC disclosure in the higher education institutions context, namely, websites and social media, whereas previous studies focused on traditional tools as annual report. Likewise, this study considers the quality of this information.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ownership concentration and human capital (HC) disclosure released via LinkedIn.

This study uses a quantitative methodology. The sample is composed of 150 European companies. Content analysis was used to examine HC disclosure via LinkedIn. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis.

The results indicate that ownership concentration negatively influences HC disclosure via LinkedIn, confirming that closely held firms have little motivation to voluntarily release information.

The main limitation of this study relates to the sample size. Furthermore, this study investigates only the quantity of HC disclosure; it does not consider the quality of this information.

The typical ownership structure of European firms generates a force that opposes the growing pressure for internationalization and global transparency. This important issue needs to be considered in investor decisions, HC management and reporting and in setting accounting standards. Moreover, the study points out that, despite the potential opportunities provided by LinkedIn to build and enforce relationships with their stakeholders, companies mainly use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes.

This study contributes to the literature on HC disclosure because it is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first study that exclusively examines HC disclosure by European companies via LinkedIn and because it develops a disclosure index that includes items concerning the stock of knowledge and capabilities of employees in addition to the practices in human resource management.

This paper examines the evolution and determinants of the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in a developing country (Mauritius).

CSR disclosures from annual reports of all listed companies were hand-collected for a 12-year period (2007–2018). The extent of disclosure was measured using a dichotomous index (41 items) while the quality of each disclosure item was assessed on a three-point scale. We rely on organisational legitimacy and resource dependence theories to investigate (1) trends in CSR disclosure extent and quality (2) the role of selected board and firm characteristics, namely the business qualifications of board members, extent of cross-directorships and the firm’s use of employee volunteering scheme, on CSR disclosure.

CSR disclosure extent, notably in relation to environment and human resources, gradually increased to an overall score of 45%. Comparatively, the quality of disclosures was low, with an average score of 20%. The proportion of business-qualified directors is only positively associated with CSR disclosure extent. The extent of cross-directorships is negatively associated with CSR disclosure quality while employee volunteering is positively associated with disclosure extent and quality.

The findings reveal the relatively low quality of information being disclosed, and in spite of CSR and governance reforms, there seems to be limited influence from the board of directors and their networks; prompting a call to foster greater board engagement on CSR matters. The results also highlight the need for a multi-dimensional assessment of CSR disclosure.

This paper aims to: design a comprehensive, review‐based and statistically tested corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) index; measure item‐wise and theme‐wise the social performance of the top 82 companies in India; and investigate item‐wise and theme‐wise the variations in CSRD.

The paper presents an empirical study of CSRD in 2009‐2010, using content analysis, Cronbach's α, the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov and Shapiro‐Wilk tests of normality and a six point scale (0‐5), mean, skewness, kurtosis, and Levene's, Kruskal‐Wallis's and Mood's median tests for analysis and interpretation.

CSRD shows less satisfactory social performance, mainly narrative, and varies significantly among items and themes. Community development, with a mean score of 14.30, is the most disclosed theme, followed by HR, with a score of 11.20. The human element is the center of social performance in India. More than equal focus should be given to the environment and to emissions, which impact the greater interests of the world. Some burning global issues like water usage, alternative sources of energy, product safety and innovation have not received adequate attention.

The study offers ample scope for the further studies as each and every theme and item considered in the model/index requires individual focus to serve the future generations of mankind. Longitudinal/transnational studies in the area of CSR could be carried out to set the scene for further studies.

The paper recommends mandatory CSR norms leading to improved disclosure, the sharing of innovative knowledge, cost reductions and enhanced effectiveness in managing scarce resources.

The paper evaluates social performance in the economic, social, religious environment and highlights the emerging philanthropic attitude. The paper improves an existing model by incorporating an emerging dimension, i.e. “Emissions of carbon and other harmful gases”. The CSEEE index designed here is highly appropriate for developing economies like India. The paper measures CSRD using six‐point scales for the first time.

To investigate, compare and document the magnitude and extent of intellectual capital disclosure to sustainability disclosure during a transition from a voluntary to mandated “comply or explain” sustainability reporting regime. And to empirically test if, during the regime transition period, changes in the magnitude (extent) of sustainability disclosure is a significant determinant of changes in the magnitude (extent) of intellectual capital disclosure.

Content analysis of 1,744 annual reports drawn from 436 Singapore listed firms spanning a four-year observation window (i.e. April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2018). The magnitude (number of sentences) and extent (number of items) of (1) intellectual capital disclosure measured using a 38-item index; (2) sustainability disclosure of a 105-item index; and (3) 15-item index to measure the magnitude and extent of joint sustainability/intellectual capital disclosure.

The average magnitude and extent of sustainability and the joint sustainability/intellectual capital disclosure increased whilst the average magnitude and extent of intellectual capital disclosure increased when regulatory discussion of a change to mandated sustainability reporting emerged. However, in the annual period the mandated sustainability reporting became effective while the average magnitude and extent of intellectual capital disclosure declined. Regression tests indicate a significant (insignificant) association between the change in the magnitude (extent) of sustainability disclosure and intellectual capital disclosure.

From a research perspective, the analysis implies researchers investigating the consequences of mandated sustainability disclosure should consider impact on alternative non-financial disclosure themes and develop theoretical frameworks to derive why and how management may shift non-financial reporting strategies and practices.

For regulators, findings suggest there may be a need to weigh spillover costs of reductions in transparency related to intellectual capital. For investors, declines in the magnitude and extent of intellectual capital disclosure following a transition to mandated sustainability reporting may limit future firm valuation particularly of heavy intangible asset-oriented firms.

Initial study empirically investigating the impact of the transition from a voluntary to mandated sustainability reporting regime on the magnitude and extent of intellectual capital disclosure.