The Rise and Fall of IC Reporting in Italy: Evidence From the Field

In the last two decades, scholars, practitioners and governments have underlined the relevance of reporting intellectual capital (IC). Analysing the evolution of IC research (Guthrie et al., 2012, Petty and Guthrie, 2000) and considering the fact that some “IC pioneers” companies, like Skandia, have abandoned IC reporting, a recent stream has underlined the need to investigate the use of IC reports “in practice” (Dumay, 2013, Guthrie et al., 2012, Mouritsen, 2006) in order to understand if IC reporting is something relevant or just a managerial fashion (Dumay, 2012a, Mouritsen and Roslender, 2009, Fincham and Roslender, 2003). Moving from these considerations, the aim of our study is to explore if, how and why IC reports are used by companies and if, how and why IC measurement and reporting practices do (or do not) stabilize. In order to achieve this aim, a field study approach has been adopted (Roslender and Hart, 2003, Kaplan, 1986, Scapens, 1990). The paper discusses some preliminary findings which extend extant knowledge on IC measurements and contributes to reduce the gap between theory and practice. More specifically, the paper highlights how the IC report is frequently a ‘personal business’, delves into the relationship with the social report and other company reports, discusses the determining role of some ‘key’ actors (i.e. project sponsors, project leaders, controllers) in affecting if and which kind of evolutions IC reports may undergo. Further, the paper sheds light on the IC ‘lock-in’ phenomenon in the accounting or in other domains. Finally it contributes to confirm the fragility of IC indicators. Differently from the majority of extant studies, this one is not focused only on the production of IC measurements and reports or on their peculiarities but also on their use. Moreover, it is not focused on a specific moment but adopts a longitudinal perspective. Finally, this paper in not centred on a single case study but offers insights collected from several organisations in order to have a broader view on IC in practice.