Purpose

This study aims to analyse the extent and type of online intellectual capital (IC) disclosure provided by a sample of 117 Italian listed companies. The study also seeks to identify possible determinants of the extent and type of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practiced by Italian listed companies via the Web.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis is conducted to investigate the extent and type of online ICD provided through websites by a sample of 117 Italian listed companies. Two multivariate ordinary least squares regression models are applied to estimate the associations proposed in the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that Italian listed companies are exploiting the potential of websites to satisfy the information needs of investors and other stakeholders in relation to strategic IC-based corporate resources, with a particular focus on external capital. For the most part, ICD is conveyed in narrative form. Moreover, while the size and board independence positively affect both the extent and type of ICD, profitability exerts a positive influence only on the extent of online ICD.

Originality/value

Unlike previous ICD studies, which focussed on annual reports, this study explores an emerging and innovative tool to convey ICD, namely, the website. In today’s world, websites are considered to be the most expedient and effective tools for sharing and transmitting information, including IC; they are a vehicle that can shift the IC focus from the organisation to the wider ecosystem.

中文翻译：

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ICD企业传播及其决定因素：来自意大利上市公司网站的证据

目的

这项研究旨在分析由117家意大利上市公司提供的在线智力资本（IC）披露的程度和类型。该研究还试图确定意大利上市公司通过网络实施的智力资本披露（ICD）的程度和类型的可能决定因素。

设计/方法/方法

进行了内容分析，以调查117家意大利上市公司通过网站提供的在线ICD的范围和类型。应用两个多元普通最小二乘回归模型来估计研究假设中提出的关联。

发现

结果表明，意大利上市公司正在利用网站的潜力来满足投资者和其他利益相关者在基于IC的战略性公司资源方面的信息需求，特别是对外部资本的关注。在大多数情况下，ICD以叙述形式表达。此外，尽管规模和董事会独立性对ICD的范围和类型均具有积极影响，但盈利能力仅对在线ICD的范围产生积极影响。

创意/价值

与以前的ICD研究侧重于年度报告不同，本研究探索了一种新兴的创新工具来传达ICD，即网站。在当今世界，网站被认为是共享和传输信息（包括IC）的最便捷，最有效的工具。它们是可以将IC的关注点从组织转移到更广泛的生态系统的工具。