Innovation capital disclosure and independent directors: evidence from France

Fathia Elleuch Lahyani () and Salma Damak Ayadi ()
Additional contact information
Fathia Elleuch Lahyani: Qatar University
Salma Damak Ayadi: University Manouba

International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 2025, vol. 22, issue 1, No 8, 125-139

Abstract: Abstract This study aims to understand whether corporate governance mechanisms affect innovation capital disclosure (ICD) provided voluntarily on corporate websites by SBF 120 listed firms in France. The study tests multivariate models using pooled OLS, random effects, and generalized method of moments models. Firms use ICD as a useful, timely communication tool to highlight their innovation efforts. Our findings suggest that independent non-executive directors (INEDs) exhibit a conservative approach to the nature of innovation that requires extensive investigations with risky outcomes. They support discretion by limiting the extent of publicly disclosed information about research and development (R&D) progress, technological advances, and innovation output to protect the firms’ intellectual proprietary. INEDs seem to balance preserving firms’ competitive advantage and ensuring higher transparency levels to satisfy stakeholders’ needs. Additionally, board tenure moderates the relationship between INEDs and ICD. This study underscores the importance of the financial reporting of information about innovation capital that captures firms’ innovation capacities in a knowledge-based economy. It provides significant insights for management, policy-makers, and regulators who are involved in refining corporate reporting policies. This study is the first to examine the incentives of INEDs in influencing reporting practices related to a firm’s innovation investments, particularly in high-technology firms.

Keywords: Innovation capital disclosure; Online disclosure; Independent directors; Corporate governance; High-technology firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41310-024-00241-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:ijodag:v:22:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41310-024-00241-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41310

DOI: 10.1057/s41310-024-00241-8

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Disclosure and Governance is currently edited by Michael Alles

More articles in International Journal of Disclosure and Governance from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().