Using content analysis as a research method to inquire into intellectual capital reporting

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23356236
AutoresJames Guthrie (0000-0003-4683-7976, Macquarie University), R Petty (Macquarie University), Kittiya Yongvanich (Macquarie University), Federica Ricceri (0000-0002-6490-4450, University of Padua)
Ano2004
Volume5
Fascículo2
Páginas282-293
Data de publicação2004-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Intellectual Capital (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1469-1930 • E-ISSN: 1758-7468
EditoraEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/14691930410533704
OpenAlexW2071768430
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas53
Referências citadas35

Increasingly, researchers in the field of intellectual capital (IC) need to be able to justify the specific research methods they use to collect the empirical data that they examine to support and test opinions regarding the merit of different approaches to managing and reporting IC. Of the various methods available to researchers seeking to understand intellectual capital reporting (ICR), content analysis is the most popular. The aim of this paper is to review the use of content analysis as a research method in understanding ICR and to offer some observations on the practical utility of the method. Further, the paper examines several research method issues relating to the use of content analysis that have been discussed in the social environmental accounting literature, but not as yet in the IC literature, which we believe are relevant to investigations underway in the field of ICR. This paper reports on several developmental issues we have confronted when using content analysis to examine the voluntary disclosure of IC in annual reports by various organisations. The paper also suggests two theoretical foundations for further investigation into the voluntary disclosure of IC by organisations, and suggests why content analysis is well matched to both these theories as a means to collect empirical data to test research propositions.

Business · Content analysis · Empirical research · Field (mathematics) · Integrated reporting · Intellectual capital · Knowledge management · Social science · Sociology · Test (biology) · Accounting · Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance · Computer Science · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Intellectual Capital and Performance Analysis