Intellectual capital reports in India: lessons from a case study
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Pages | 141-149 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14691930510574717 |
| Author | Patricia Ordoñez de Pablos |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,HR & organizational behaviour,Information & knowledge management |
Intellectual capital reports in
India: lessons from a case study
Patricia Ordon
˜ez de Pablos
Department of Business Administration and Accountability,
Faculty of Economics, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – In 1994 the Swedish insurance company Skandia published the first intellectual capital
report. Following these steps, other European companies decided to report on intangible resources.
The Indian company, Reliance Industries Limited, published the first Indian intellectual capital report
in 1997. Later other Indian companies also started to build and publish this new type of corporate
report. Now the question is: are there any differences between Indian intellectual capital reports and
European intellectual capital reports? If so, what ideas can be derived from these differences?
Design/methodology/approach – A case study was carried out to analyse how Indian firms build
the intellectual capital report. In particular three leading Indian firms were selected: Reliance
Industries Limited, Balrampur Chini Mills, and Shree Cement Limited.
Findings – The paper offers insights into how leading Indian firms measure and report
knowledge-based resources. The Indian intellectual capital report does not focus on the business
model, values, mission and vision and/or knowledge management issues as in the case of European
intellectual capital reports. It presents a “narrative” style. This is a major distinctive feature of Indian
reports.
Practical implications – The case study may help other companies to build the intellectual capital
report. As the paper also provides a comparative view of Indian and European intellectual capital
reports, managers can decide which approach better fits their firms.
Originality/value – Most papers on intellectual capital measuring and reporting focus on European
firms. However, this pioneer paper offers some insights into the reporting of intellectual capital in
Indian companies.
Keywords Case studies, India,Intangible assets, Intellectual capital
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The Swedish insurance company Skandia published the first intellectual capital report
in 1994. Great attention and expectation was directed towards the world’s first
intellectual capital report. Clearly this report was a milestone not only in the field of
intellectual capital, but also in the financial area as firms realised that just publishing
financial statements was not enough to have rich information for the decision-making
process.
This paper is structured in to four basic sections. The first section briefly reviews
the history of intellectual capital from 1994-2004. Major steps taken are analysed and
some insights on future trends are presented. The second section is focused on
intellectual capital reports in India. It discusses in detail the state of the art of the
Indian intellectual capital report, with emphasis on its own idiosyncrasy and
differences with European reports. The third section discusses main conclusions of the
paper as well as implications for management. Finally, the last section briefly presents
some avenues for further research in the field of intellectual capital measuring and
reporting.
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
IC reports in
India
141
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2005
pp. 141-149
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/14691930510574717
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