Preparers’ and users’ perception of intellectual capital information usefulness. A Tunisian exploratory study
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-12-2016-0147 |
| Published date | 14 May 2018 |
| Pages | 617-643 |
| Date | 14 May 2018 |
| Author | Salma Loulou-Baklouti,Mohamed Triki |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,HR & organizational behaviour,Organizational structure/dynamics,Accounting & Finance,Accounting/accountancy,Behavioural accounting |
Preparers’and users’
perception of intellectual capital
information usefulness
A Tunisian exploratory study
Salma Loulou-Baklouti
Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Management,
University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia, and
Mohamed Triki
Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore preparers’and users’perception of intellectual capital (IC)
usefulness and to examine the significant differences in the usefulness perceptions of IC information and its
categoriesaccordingto sex, age, function,educationallevel, specialtyand professionalexperience of respondents.
Design/methodology/approach –This exploratory study drew on a questionnaire survey sent to five
groups of preparers and users who were asked to provide their usefulness perceptionabout information on IC
and its categories.
Findings –This paper found that the five preparers and users groups perceive information on IC as well as
its three categories as useful for their decision-making purposes. In addition, it concluded that the usefulness
perception of IC information does not differ by sex, age, function, educational level and specialty of the
respondents, but it differs according to the professional experience.
Practical implications –To the extent that users perceive IC information as useful, managers are
encouraged to disclose more information about this hidden capital in order to improve their transparency. As
there are no generally accepted IC reporting guidelines and in order to fill informational gaps between
companies and their stakeholders, accounting standards bodies could regulate the IC information disclosure
by developing relevant communication standards in accordance with stakeholders’expectations. They may
identify information items that should be considered as a priority by making them mandatory for disclosure
purposes, and other items voluntary.
Originality/value –The paper can be regarded as the first exploratory study to investigate the IC
information usefulness from the perspectives of five preparers and users groupsin Tunisia, as an example of
a developing economy in Africa.
Keywords Perception, Tunisia, Usefulness, Intellectual capital, Users, Preparers
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The economic system has changed and become more based on intangible resources. Beyond
tangible and visible physical capital, intelligence, skills and knowledge are becoming
increasingly exponential (Marr, 2008). It is the advent of the post-industrial era that is
increasingly based on the intangible but less and less on physical and financial elements. It
is an economy that has no physical foundation but which relies heavily on intellectual
capacities to put them at the center of value creation (Holland, 2003).
In Tunisia, a development strategy based on the intangible economy has been pursued
since the tenth plan (2002-2006) (Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative
Studies (TICQS), 2012). An upgrading program has also been adopted since 1995 in order to
support the competitive capacity of Tunisian companies as well as to stimulate industrial
partnership, and to strengthen the socio-economic environment of the company. In this
respect, the competitiveness survey carried out in February 2010 by the Tunisian Institute
of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies (TICQS), on a sample of adherents and
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 19 No. 3, 2018
pp. 617-643
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-12-2016-0147
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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Intellectual
capital
information
usefulness
non-adherents companies to the upgrading program, showed that this program has indeed
favored the appropriation process of knowledge by Tunisian companies. The best
performing upgraded companies are those that have pursued a strategy focused on product
diversification, R&D, innovation, training, certification and ICT (Tunisian Institute of
Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies, 2010). Moreover, in its knowledge economy
annual report of 2012, the TICQS stated that Tunisia is making progress, albeit at a
moderate pace, toward the knowledge-based economy (TICQS, 2012).
Despite the Tunisia’s progress toward knowledge economy and the great efforts to
promote and support intangible investments, such as upgrading programs, very few studies
have explored the intellectual capital (IC)information perception. No study has examined the
perceptions of IC disclosure from a preparers’and users’perspective in Tunisia. Research in
this area has particularly focused on the perception of managers (e.g. Boujelbene and Affes,
2013) or that of financial analysts andportfolios managers (e.g. Ferchichi, 2011; Ferchichiand
Paturel, 2016).
In order to fill these gaps in the literature, it is interesting, in the light of the intangible
investment increase in Tunisia and the lack of academic studies in this field, to explore
preparers’and users’perception of the IC information usefulness.
The paper is structured as follows. Section 2 provides the theoretical foundation,
definition and typology of IC. Section 3 reviews the prior literature. Section 4 describes the
research method. Data collection and respondents’characteristics are presented in Section 5.
Section 6 presents and interprets the different results. Section 7 concludes.
2. Theoretical foundation, definition and typology of IC
2.1 Theoretical foundation of IC
The concept of IC originates from the key idea focused on the importance of certain specific
resources to the company competitiveness and supported by new theories of strategic
management (Carlucci and Schiuma, 2007), such as the resource-based view (Wernerfelt,
1984; Barney, 1986), the core competencies approach (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990) and
the dynamic capabilities approach (Teece et al., 1997; Teece, 2000), contributing to the
development of a strategic approach of intangible elements (Bounfour, 1998, 2003).
These approaches place intangible resources at the center of the companies’sustainable
development by considering them as levers for creating competitive advantages. They have
all the specificity of transposingthe reflection toward the analysis of the firm,its resources, its
knowledge and know-how, its dynamic capacities, its routinesas well as its capacity to learn.
Dynamic capabilities enable companies to combine, protect and reconfigure their
tangible and intangible assets. They reflect companies’ability to design and implement new
types of competitive advantages. This ability is integrated into companies’intentional
processes and complements all of their core capabilities.
Among the economic analysis methods that allow understanding, modeling and evaluating
IC, is the “Intellectual Capital dynamic Value”approach (Bounfour, 2003). It is based on the
work of resource-based view and company’s dynamic capabilities.It is an integrated model for
assessing performance and the relative value of companies’IC. It falls within a dy namic
perspective in that it privileges interactions between different perspectives of IC management
and integrates four dimensions for measurement, that are inputs, processes, assets and outputs.
2.2 Definition of IC
According to some authors, like Edvinsson and Malone (1997, 1999), Stewart (1997) and
Sveiby (1997), the increase in the market-to-book and Tobin’sQratios was behind the
development of an IC theory. A myriad of multidisciplinary definitions have been given to
the IC construct (Marr, 2007). They can be classified according to a three-dimensional
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