Unveiling the link between performance and Intellectual Capital disclosure in the context of Italian Public universities

Abstract

This work aims to explore the relationship between academic performance and voluntary Intellectual Capital (IC) disclosure in the context of Italian Public Universities. This study applies a content analysis to investigate the extent of voluntary Intellectual Capital disclosure (ICD) provided through performance reports by a sample of 59 Italian public universities. Four multivariate regression models are estimated to examine the associations between academic performance and the level of ICD and its sub-components, namely Human Capital, Structural Capital and Relational Capital. The content analysis findings show that Italian public universities place a high value on disclosing human capital information. The results based on the multivariate analysis confirm the view that, in the case of higher performance, Italian Public Universities tend to convey a greater extent of information on both IC and its sub-components. This study broadens the scope of mainstream ICD literature's actions by bringing new expertise about the interconnections between university performance and voluntary ICD provided via performance reports. Connecting university performance to ICD can enhance the practical and theoretical understanding of the role that ICD may exert for universities to signalling their excellence and explain to stakeholders how they create value and achieve superior performance, focusing on their strategic - IC-based resources.