Intellectual capital disclosure in private sector listed companiesin India

This study aims to investigate the extent and variety of voluntary intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) by listed private firms in India. It also compares the level of ICD of firms in the high‐IC‐intensive and low‐IC‐intensive industry sector. In addition, it evaluates the effect of firm size on ICD levels. Consistent with previous ICD research, the results show that relational capital (in particular about “brands and customers”) is the most frequently reported, followed by human capital, and lastly structural capital. In addition, the extent and variety of voluntary ICD by large firms is higher than that of small firms. Again, consistent with prior research, high‐IC‐intensive firms disclose significantly higher IC than low‐IC‐intensive firms. The findings of this study can have implications for regulators, who may want to be aware of how voluntary ICD influences and informs users. This study is one of the few that examines the extent of firms' voluntary ICD in India. It is the first to investigate the extent and variety of voluntary ICD by incorporating two different measures—count and presence—of each component of ICD.