Analyzing intellectual capital information in sustainability reports: some empirical evidence

Cinquini, Lino; Passetti, Emilio; Tenucci, Andrea; Frey, Marco

doi:10.1108/14691931211276124

Cited by 76 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…A content analysis analyzes collected information systematically, objectively and reliably [65,66] and therefore, it should follow a transparent and rigorous process indicating the different steps of the process and the framework of analysis adopted [27,67].…”

Section: Research Setting and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports

et al. 2020

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Over recent years, the meaning of accountability has evolved and has reshaped what public sector institutions are expected to account for and how. Consequently, a large number of initiatives have emerged promoting non-financial reporting. In this context, public universities have started to experiment with sustainability reporting initiatives, but these efforts are still limited and challenged by the parallel development of multiple forms of reporting, which include integrated reporting (IR). IR has been interpreted as a further step in the reporting journey, suitable for representing the creation of public value and addressing accountability pressures. The current research aims at understanding if and how IR constitutes a feasible next step for improving the reporting practices of public universities. For this purpose, the research carries out a content analysis of social or sustainability reports written by a number of Italian public universities to find out which of the key elements of IR have already been included in such reports. Results show that some of those elements are already included, but often in a fragmented and non-homogeneous way. The findings pave the way for further considerations on how the potential adoption of IR may strengthen the value of social and sustainability reporting by integrating the information reported in different documents, fostering toward a bureaucracy that is more sustainable and providing more opportunities of innovation in reports on public sector organizations' accountability.

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Section: Research Setting and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports

et al. 2020

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“…As to the international practices for the reporting of information on IC, we have to consider that a separate report, closely focused on IC data, is available only in some countries (e.g., Denmark and Sweden), whilst in general there is the tendency to limit the IC disclosure. Particularly the absence of an IC reporting scheme [24] explains the reasons for the inclusion of the IC data in different reports (primarily annual reports and CSR/sustainability reports) with the risk of losing or overlapping specific IC content. This raises the need-as argued by the existing literature [37,38], practitioners [39,40], and interest groups [41,42]-for an integrated reporting model for non-financial information.…”

Section: Rationale Of Ic Disclosurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…We defined the framework according to studies using a detailed intellectual capital framework; in particular, we followed four models: two models on the IC disclosure of European banks [6,9]; one model on the IC reporting of Italian listed firms, including banks [24]; and a model specifically developed for Italian banks [12].…”

Section: The Framework Of Ic Disclosurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, forward-looking information is crucial in signaling to the market the corporate perspectives in creating value [24]. Lastly, a balanced mix of financial and non-financial information gives a better picture of the organization considered as a whole [38].…”

Section: Ic Disclosure Of Italian Banks: a Focus On Healthy And Distrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, we defined a new detailed intellectual capital framework for banks on the basis of some frameworks provided by literature [6,9,12,24]. Additionally, our study provided evidence that Italian banks do not attribute sufficient importance to IC disclosure in general, and in particular, they do not consider such issues a strategic asset for improving their credibility and reputation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Intellectual Capital Disclosure: Some Evidence from Healthy and Distressed Banks in Italy

et al. 2020

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The article investigates the intellectual capital disclosure of Italian banks over the years 2016-2017, applying the specific lens of healthy and distressed banks. To this end, we used content analysis and encoding techniques. The main results point out that intellectual capital (IC) disclosure is generally poor and that the intensity of disclosure varies slightly between healthy and distressed banks. Regarding the quality of disclosure, healthy banks present a higher, albeit modest, tendency to disclose non-qualitative and forward-looking information, maybe due to the fact that they are more focused on the strategies and the relationships with stakeholders as opposed to a more short-term approach of the distressed banks. To complement our study on healthy and distressed banks, we repeated the analysis focusing on bank size and independent directors. In this case, results do not show relevant differences in terms of IC disclosure. Hence, our findings suggest the need to consider banks' IC disclosure as a strategic asset for increasing, among others, transparency and reputation.Sustainability 2020, 12, 3174 2 of 20 considered a "phenomenon of interrelationships and interactions, having each component little value if considered per se, but as a whole it represents great value for the organization" [8].In respect of the individual types of capital, it is possible, consistent with the existing literature, to detect some characterizing features. Human capital, defined by Sveiby [4] as "the capacity to act in a wide variety of situations to create both tangible and intangible assets", consists of personnel's attributes (e.g., knowledge, skills, motivation, experience, abilities); some of them are linked to individuals (such as technical competence, previous experience, and creativity), while others are connected with the firm as a whole (e.g., teamwork, healthy work environment). Brooking [2] defines structural capital as "the skeleton and the adhesive of the organization, which strengthens the company and creates a close and coherent relationship between individuals and their processes", so that it may be regarded as the knowledge inherent in a single organization. Some examples include procedures, systems, cultures, databases, technologies, and organizational learning capacity. Lastly, relational capital focuses on the relations of a firm with third parties, such as customers, suppliers, investors, and creditors, and also includes the external perception of the firm. For this, it may relate to elements such as image, customer loyalty and satisfaction, and environmental activities [9].It is therefore clear how the IC could be enhanced within a knowledge-based scenario, taking into account that only a profitable knowledge management, aimed at achieving the best benefit of stakeholders, may represent a significant driver of the companies' success [9]; this is particularly significant in the case of banks, as "perfect" representatives of a knowledge-based economy. Thus, IC is essential in the banking activity [6]: banks...

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Circular economy and environmental disclosure in sustainability reports: Empirical evidence in cosmetic companies

2021

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the content and quality of circular economy (CE) and environmental information (CEEI) disclosure in sustainability reports.Additionally, it provides suggestions for heightening CEEI disclosure. Using the content analysis, we analysed the changes that took place after the European Union (EU) action plan (2015) selecting a sample of sustainable reports in the cosmetic industry in Italy in 2014 and 2019 years. We applied the Climate Disclosure Standard Board (CDSB) framework focused on 12 reporting requirements designed to encourage corporate standardized disclosure of environmental information. Our analysis is performed through a frequency term analysis. Additionally, to measure the general shift of semantic over the two years towards CEEI, a semi-supervised topic modelling approach was applied, whose topics were obtained by aggregating all terms with a significant variation from the content analysis. Findings show that the recent reports (2019) include terms related to the environment in a slightly more frequent way compared to 2014. We provide stronger evidence of the shift in the origin of the topics, being coherent with the changes introduced from the EU 2015 act, and the requirements of the CDSB framework nevertheless the CE seems still under-reported in the area of governance, strategy, management and performance. The paper discusses the need for further Institutional (EU directives), regulatory (CDSB framework) and stakeholders' pressure (on companies. Finally, the implementation of an integrated reporting for social, economic and environmental disclosure is suggested as a way to ensure an effective CEEI disclosure.

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Analyzing intellectual capital information in sustainability reports: some empirical evidence

Cited by 76 publications

References 83 publications

Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports

Moving from Social and Sustainability Reporting to Integrated Reporting: Exploring the Potential of Italian Public-Funded Universities’ Reports

Intellectual Capital Disclosure: Some Evidence from Healthy and Distressed Banks in Italy

Circular economy and environmental disclosure in sustainability reports: Empirical evidence in cosmetic companies

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