This study examines voluntary intellectual capital reporting (ICR) in New Zealand firms' annual reports, with a view to contributing to understanding ICR practice. This study also reflects on content analysis with a view to refining the methodology when applied to investigating ICR.The literature includes widespread claims that intellectual capital (IC) resources are important value drivers and assets, and that IC information should be reported externally. However, complexities relating to identifying IC prevent it from being recognised as an asset under current accounting regulations. Consequently, the traditional financial reporting system is being criticised as out-of-date, giving deficient and irrelevant information, and having lost its value relevance. Numerous scholars have investigated voluntary ICR in several countries, but have presented different results and findings. The literature argues that the results of many ICR studies cannot be meaningfully compared because inconsistent data collection instruments have been applied. To advance ICR research, further refining and developing of the methodology is advocated; problems relating to applying methodological issues need to be resolved. Moreover, to establish consensus about ICR, more research and evidence is needed concerning exactly what and how IC is reported.The 2004 annual reports of the 30 largest (by market capitalisation) New Zealand firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange were analysed. Content analysis was applied to determine what and how IC is reported. Inferences about what IC is communicated were made based on an analysis of the content of texts and visual representations. To determine how IC is reported, voluntary reporting was categorised according to the form, nature and location of the disclosure. Frequencies of mention were recorded. Hence, each incidence of occurrence was coded and counted.This study reflected on content analysis methodology by searching the literature for guidance on how to apply this approach and how to deal with the challenges and problems it poses. The thesis discusses methodological issues that could be applied differently, and hence hinder the replicability and comparability of ICR studies. Moreover, the ICR literature provided limited guidance about how to deal with methodological challenges and problems, and revealed an absence of explicit recording instructions. Therefore, explicating this study's recording instructions should enhance replicability and comparability of future ICR research and hence further refine the methodology.Some results of this content analysis study disconfirm those of prior research: New Zealand firms show high levels of ICR, the most reported IC category is human capital, and the most reported IC item is employees. In line with prior research, this study showed that most ICR is presented in declarative terms. Moreover, more than one-third of New Zealand firms' ICR is disclosed as pictures. This indicates the importance of pictorial information as a means of reporting IC and the need to include graphics when conducting ICR research. This study's findings also indicate a narrative approach, similar to the European notion of story telling, to voluntarily report IC information. This approach suggests that narratives have possible potential for voluntary ICR, as an approach that departs from a measurement and quantification approach.

This study examines voluntary intellectual capital reporting (ICR) in New Zealand firms' annual reports, with a view to contributing to understanding ICR practice. This study also reflects on content analysis with a view to refining the methodology when applied to investigating ICR.The literature includes widespread claims that intellectual capital (IC) resources are important value drivers and assets, and that IC information should be reported externally. However, complexities relating to identifying IC prevent it from being recognised as an asset under current accounting regulations. Consequently, the traditional financial reporting system is being criticised as out-of-date, giving deficient and irrelevant information, and having lost its value relevance. Numerous scholars have investigated voluntary ICR in several countries, but have presented different results and findings. The literature argues that the results of many ICR studies cannot be meaningfully compared because inconsistent data collection instruments have been applied. To advance ICR research, further refining and developing of the methodology is advocated; problems relating to applying methodological issues need to be resolved. Moreover, to establish consensus about ICR, more research and evidence is needed concerning exactly what and how IC is reported.The 2004 annual reports of the 30 largest (by market capitalisation) New Zealand firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange were analysed. Content analysis was applied to determine what and how IC is reported. Inferences about what IC is communicated were made based on an analysis of the content of texts and visual representations. To determine how IC is reported, voluntary reporting was categorised according to the form, nature and location of the disclosure. Frequencies of mention were recorded. Hence, each incidence of occurrence was coded and counted.This study reflected on content analysis methodology by searching the literature for guidance on how to apply this approach and how to deal with the challenges and problems it poses. The thesis discusses methodological issues that could be applied differently, and hence hinder the replicability and comparability of ICR studies. Moreover, the ICR literature provided limited guidance about how to deal with methodological challenges and problems, and revealed an absence of explicit recording instructions. Therefore, explicating this study's recording instructions should enhance replicability and comparability of future ICR research and hence further refine the methodology.Some results of this content analysis study disconfirm those of prior research: New Zealand firms show high levels of ICR, the most reported IC category is human capital, and the most reported IC item is employees. In line with prior research, this study showed that most ICR is presented in declarative terms. Moreover, more than one-third of New Zealand firms' ICR is disclosed as pictures. This indicates the importance of pictorial information as a means of reporting IC and the need to include graphics when conducting ICR research. This study's findings also indicate a narrative approach, similar to the European notion of story telling, to voluntarily report IC information. This approach suggests that narratives have possible potential for voluntary ICR, as an approach that departs from a measurement and quantification approach.

在這個知識經濟時代中，智慧資本是組織競爭優勢的關鍵所在，因此企業會希望透過內部智慧資本報導來監督智慧資本的發展與執行，不過，隨著企業所採取策略的不同，將影響所重視與所需的智慧資本，並進而造成智慧資本報導內容也將會因策略的不同而有所差異。此外，從企業的市場價值與帳面價值背離情況愈趨嚴重來看，也瞭解到傳統財務報表已無法提供給外部資訊使用者有關企業未來獲利潛力之有用資訊，而為解決此問題並提昇財務報表的價值攸關性，應有必要提供智慧資本外部報導予外部資訊使用者。 　　鑑於企業對內部與外部智慧資本報導需求之與日俱增，政府機構與學術界也開始積極探討智慧資本內部與外部報導架構之議題，並提出內部智慧資本報導需揭露較詳細的組織流程與程序等資訊；而外部智慧資本報導因基於可靠性、可比較性與企業競爭力之考量，所揭露之內容則不需太詳細且應偏重組織活動與流程的結果。故本研究之主要目的係探討企業所需之內部智慧資本報導內容為何，與外部智慧資本報導內容有何不同，以及是否會隨所採策略不同而有所差異。 　　本研究係以我國資訊電子業之上市與上櫃公司為研究對象，並採取問卷調查法與統計分析法來找出企業管理者認為智慧資本內部與外部報導所應包含之內容，發現之結果如下： 一、企業基於內部管理目的，所重視及所需之智慧資本報導內容有「基礎　　設施能力」、「研發能力」、「營運流程管理」、「提昇人力資源品　　質之能力」、「拓展新客戶之能力」、「員工勝任能力」、「客戶服　　務系統之完善程度」、「客戶獲利力」等八個因素構面。 二、企業認為智慧資本內部報導與智慧資本外部報導之內容應有差異。 三、企業基於內部管理目的，所重視及所需之智慧資本報導內容會因採取　　策略之不同而有所差異。 / In this knowledge-based economy, intellectual capital is the key factor to help business get its competitive advantage. Therefore, business hopes to use internal intellectual capital reporting to monitor the development and execution of intellectual capital. The different strategies will influence the need of intellectual capital and also contribute to the difference of intellectual capital reporting. Besides, while the gap between market value and book value becomes larger, traditional financial statement becomes insufficient for external users. To solve this problem and increase the relevance of financial statement, it is necessary to provide external intellectual capital reporting to external users. In view of the increasing need of internal and external intellectual capital reporting, the government and scholars began to explore the issues of external and internal intellectual capital reporting structure actively. They also propose that internal intellectual capital reporting should disclose more detail business processes and procedures, etc.; On the other hand, external intellectual capital reporting doesn’t need detailed disclosure, but should emphasize on the outcomes of business activities and processes based on reliability, comparability, and competitiveness. The objective of this study is to find out the intellectual capital reporting of different reporting purposes and strategic types. In this study, both questionnaire survey and statistics analysis are used. The public firms in the electronic industry are the objects of the thesis. We found that: 1. Managers think that internal intellectual capital reporting includes the infrastructure ability, research and development ability, operation processes management, the ability to increase human resource quality, the ability to increase a number of clients, the qualified ability of employees, the completeness of customer service system, and the customer profits. 2. Managers think that internal intellectual capital reporting and external intellectual capital reporting are different. 3. Internal Intellectual capital reporting is affected by strategic types.