Research on CSR disclosure points to an increasing lack of completeness and decreasing amount of credibility in the information reported, as well as concerns about overall reporting practices. The aim of this paper is to investigate the (ab)use of three CSR reporting practices: the use of stand-alone reports, assurance, and reporting guidance. These practices may be the outcome of a substantive approach to CSR undertaken to carry out duties of accountability to stakeholders, or conversely they could represent symbolic actions intended to portray corporations as genuinely committed to CSR. Thus, we investigate the use of these three practices in relation to disclosure proxies that capture the quality of disclosure along three different yet complementary dimensions: the content of the information disclosed (what and how much is disclosed), the type of information used to describe and discuss CSR issues (how it is disclosed) and the managerial orientation (the corporate approach to CSR). We find that, on average, companies that use these practices do not provide a higher quality of information, which we interpret as evidence of a symbolic use of these practices. Nevertheless, for those companies providing performance-related disclosures, we obtain limited evidence indicating that disclosures by GRI followers are more likely to be balanced, comparable and precise. Overall, our evidence supports increasing scepticism about the use of CSR reporting practices as tools used to enhance perceived accountability

Increasingly, researchers in the field of intellectual capital (IC) need to be able to justify the specific research methods they use to collect the empirical data that they examine to support and test opinions regarding the merit of different approaches to managing and reporting IC. Of the various methods available to researchers seeking to understand intellectual capital reporting (ICR), content analysis is the most popular. The aim of this paper is to review the use of content analysis as a research method in understanding ICR and to offer some observations on the practical utility of the method. Further, the paper examines several research method issues relating to the use of content analysis that have been discussed in the social environmental accounting literature, but not as yet in the IC literature, which we believe are relevant to investigations underway in the field of ICR. This paper reports on several developmental issues we have confronted when using content analysis to examine the voluntary disclosure of IC in annual reports by various organisations. The paper also suggests two theoretical foundations for further investigation into the voluntary disclosure of IC by organisations, and suggests why content analysis is well matched to both these theories as a means to collect empirical data to test research propositions.

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In recent years a world-wide debate has emerged on the future of business reporting. There is growing agreement that traditional financial reporting is inadequate in meeting with the information needs of stakeholders, particularly in a knowledge economy characterised by a rapidly emerging emphasis on intellectual capital (IC). This study examines voluntary intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) provided by listed Italian companies in annual reports from the year 2001. The study aims to answer two research questions namely: what is the amount and content of ICD; and what are the factors that influence different voluntary reporting behaviours. In relation to amount and content of information disclosed, the results are consistent with previous ICD studies showing extensive disclosure of external capital (in particular about "customers"). Regarding the factors that can explain different voluntary reporting practices, findings suggest that industry and size are not important in determining the content of information disclosed, however, as found in social and environmental disclosure (SED) studies, these factors are relevant in explaining the amount of information disclosed. In summary, this paper highlights the ICD practices of Italian listed companies by examining their annual reports, and compares these results with a number of previous national studies.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the voluntary reporting of intellectual capital (IC) by listed companies in Australia and Hong Kong and to evaluate size, industry and time effects on IC disclosure levels. Design/methodology/approach -The study is an empirical one conducted in two stages. Stage one is an exploratory study of voluntary IC disclosure for the 20 largest listed Australian companies in 1998. Stage two, using 2002 data, examines voluntary disclosure of IC attributes for 50 listed entities in Australia and 100 in Hong Kong. Content analysis is used to collect data. Findings -Levels of voluntary IC disclosure are found to be low and in qualitative rather than quantitative form in both locations. Disclosure level is positively related to company size, a finding that is consistent with the previous literature on voluntary reporting. Research limitations/implications -External validity may be compromised somewhat by the relatively small sample size. Managers are not observed in the process of making decisions, so management intent is inferred. Practical implications -Documenting variations in types of reporting and in reporting frequency enables a greater understanding of why some companies voluntarily report whilst others do not. Such an understanding holds the potential to guide policy-makers, creditors and investors in giving prescriptions to firms over whom they have control or with whom they have dealings.Originality/value -This study is the first to comparatively examine the voluntary reporting of IC in a longitudinal setting using Australasian data.

PurposeThe paper's aim is to examine processes used to control the management of knowledge resources in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to compare the findings with the underlying assumptions and prescriptions of intellectual capital guidelines designed for SMEs.Design/methodology/approachAn in‐depth case study of a successful Australian SME is conducted to identify the means used to control strategizing and the management of knowledge resources.FindingsIt was found that informal, intensive dialogue based processes, structured by an overriding management philosophy, governed strategization and the management of knowledge resources. These governance processes were affected by a combination of formal and informal controls and serendipitous outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper examines only one organization and the study can be extended to other SMEs to develop more detailed specific policy recommendations.Practical implicationsIntellectual capital management guidelines developed for SMEs may have little benefit due to assumptions of resource availability and the fundamental importance of formalization of strategy and control, ignoring possible scarcity of resources and the benefits of flexibility and responsiveness afforded by informal controls in SMEs. The research shows that knowledge harvesting is affected through the way knowledge is used rather than what is developed.Originality/valueThe paper empirically examines the management of knowledge resources in an Australian SME and outlines the way formal and informal controls were interwoven in organizational practices to manage knowledge harvesting. It provides a critique of intellectual capital guidelines in SMEs, highlighting a potential mis‐match between practice and key assumptions underlying the guidelines.

Purpose\ud – The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it examines nuances that specific camouflaging perspectives provide to enhance traditional and widely adopted theories in social and environmental accounting. Second, within research on camouflaging, the paper stimulates multidisciplinarity and cross-fertilization by presenting recent developments in organizational theory that hold promise for enhancing our understanding of camouflaging. Finally, it discusses how the research contributions published in this special issue help advance the notion of corporate camouflaging.\ud \ud Design/methodology/approach\ud – The paper makes use of an extensive literature review and discusses research implications related with the choice of theoretical framework.\ud \ud Findings\ud – The idea of camouflaging may provide narrower and more refined perspective(s) that can help researchers delve deeper into their topic of interest and thereby support potentially substantive contributions to the field.\ud \ud Originality/value\ud – The paper offers suggestions for future social and environmental accounting research that adopts the concepts of organized hypocrisy, organizational façades and functional stupidity into the study of organizations

Purpose -To explore the hypothesis that differences in intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices can be explained, if in part, by industrial sector (traditional; knowledge intensive) and nationality of origin (Italy; UK). Design/methodology/approach -Content analysis of the annual reports of two reasonably matched samples of both high-technology and traditional non-financial firms in Italy and the UK. Univariate and multivariate analyses are then used to test the hypothesis proposed. Findings -Size and industrial sector are found to be predictors of levels of ICD; the hypothesis relating nationality of origin to ICD is not supported.Research limitations/implications -The main limitation relates to sample size due to the onerous nature of this form of research. Further research following this matched-sample methodology should attempt to maximise sample sizes allowing for the incorporation of more specific nationally of origin factors. Practical implications -Owing to the increasing importance of intangibles and intellectual capital, how these are reported is of interest to a large range of stakeholders. There is, as yet, no universally accepted form, or indeed regulation, of ICD. Originality/value -The matched-sample methodology on international ICD comparison expands on extant approaches.