Integrated reporting and the malleable disclosure of intellectual capital

The rise of integrated reporting (IR) represents a new opportunity for intellectual capital (IC) disclosure because IR recognizes human, intellectual and social and relationship capitals among the six capitals that contribute to portray the process of value creation. By undertaking quantitative analyses, prior research has investigated the tone and amount of IC disclosure in integrated reports. However, no prior research has approached the IC disclosure in such reports from a qualitative stance. In seeking to address this gap, we explore how an early IR adopter from the Oil and Gas industry provides information about IC in its integrated reports. We particularly investigate how the locus, object and level of detail of IC disclosure evolve along the integrated reports 2012-2017. The study primarily draws on close reading of the integrated reports and is complemented with semi-structured interviews to representatives of the departments involved in the IR process. The findings of the qualitative analysis show that, over the six integrated reports, the locus of IC disclosure shifts from the business model to a descriptive table designed to the purpose. The findings also highlight that, while the object of IC disclosure remains stable, the level of detail evolves over the years towards a more and more narrative form. The paper contributes to extant literature by empirically supporting the idea that IR represents a new hope for IC disclosure and extending the conception that an effective IC disclosure needs more descriptive information than indicators to the innovative IR context.