Intellectual capital disclosure practices of financial institutions in an emerging economy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices of financial institutions in an emerging economy of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach Based on 93 items of intellectual capital categorized into internal capital, external capital and human capital, ICD index is developed for 53 financial institutions listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange. This study uses descriptive statistics to analyze ICD practices, and parametric and non-parametric tests to analyze the variation of ICD practices in terms of different categories as well as in terms of different sectors. Findings Results indicate that more than 70% of ICD items are generally not disclosed by financial institutions in Bangladesh. The highest of 36% of external capital disclosure items are disclosed, whereas the lowest of 18% of human resource capital elements are disclosed. Furthermore, results find the significant variability of ICD practices in terms of different intellectual capital categories and in between banking companies and non-banking financial institutions. Practical implications Findings have critical implications for managers, policymakers and regulators for setting appropriate strategies and regulations for improving the level of ICD, which, in turn, may reduce the information asymmetry problems of financial institutions as well. Originality/value In-depth analysis about variability of ICD practices creates value in the ICD literature by highlighting strategic priority of financial institutions to disclose information about the strategic resources in unique emerging economic settings such as Bangladesh.