Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 9, No 6 (2013)

Abstract

The future drivers of any corporate economy can no longer be capital, land or equipment; but the people and their knowledge base. Several Nigerian firms have started disclosing information on Intellectual Capital. In the setting of our research, we study the determinants of the disclosure of Intellectual Capital information in annual reports of firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A content analysis of annual reports complemented with archival data from sample firms was used to ascertain the determinants of the extent of Intellectual Capital information disclosure. The results highlight that the size of a firm and the industry type play significant roles as determinants for the disclosure of Intellectual Capital information in annual reports. However, in contrast with earlier studies and theoretical arguments of voluntary disclosure, this study does not document any relationship between the Intellectual Capital disclosure level and firm profitability. The paper contributes to literature by providing a better understanding in general to what kind of firms that actually disclose information on intellectual capital in Nigeria and also provides awareness that profitability as crucial as it might seem is not a driving determinant of the decision of Nigerian firms to disclose intellectual capital information.