The role played by intellectual capital (IC) is crucial in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Nonetheless, IC literature focusing on SMEs settings is limited and fragmented. This study provides a structured literature review (SLR) of existing evidence related to the effect of IC on SMEs performance. Findings show that strategic outcomes – such as innovation, knowledge management, and core competencies – and corporate performance of SMEs are impacted by IC. Further research could analyze the impact of IC on other determinants of SMEs’ performance such as learning organization, conversation management, and invisible assets.

Purpose: The integrated reporting framework seeks to connect a firm’s financial and non-financial performance in a single report by displaying how different forms of capital contribute to the firm’s value creation. Drawing on impression management and incremental information approaches, the purpose of this paper is to examine how the content and semantic properties of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) found in integrated reports is associated with firms’ performance. Design/methodology/approach: All reports by European listed firms from 2011 to 2016 available via the integrated reporting emerging practice examples database are analysed. Content analysis is used to assesses the quality of ICDs, whereas a regression analysis tests the variation in semantic properties of ICDs according to firms’ performance. Findings: ICDs in integrated reports are mainly discursive, with a backward looking orientation and a limited focus on human capital. On average, more than half of each ICD is conveyed in a positive tone. As the optimistic tone in firms’ ICDs increases, so too does their non-financial performance measured in terms of environmental, social and governance aspects. This finding supports the incremental information approach. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the current literature on ICDs by introducing new evidence on firms’ motivations for non-financial disclosures in integrated reports. By taking a more comprehensive theoretical approach, namely, testing both impression management and incremental information hypotheses, this research extends on prior studies which tested similar relationships in integrated reports but focussed only on the impression management hypothesis.

This study’s purpose is twofold. On the one hand, it analyzes the relationship between the profitability of firms and the tone of nonfinancial disclosures; on the other hand, it tests the relationship between the environmental, social, and governing (ESG) performance of firms and the tone of nonfinancial disclosures on the automotive sector under two different and competing approaches, which are incremental information and impression management. The sample is composed of 68 nonfinancial reports issued by 17 automotive organizations between the years 2016 and 2020. Data analysis proceeded in two stages. First, a content analysis was performed to assess the linguistic attributes of the nonfinancial disclosure. Second, an inferential regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesized associations between firms’ performance and tone of their disclosures. The results of this study are aimed at providing evidence of the determinants of the verbal tone in the corporate nonfinancial reporting in a specific industry.

Purpose: Despite the rising trend of sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) incorporation into sustainability reporting, there remains a gap in understanding the role of SDG disclosure (SDGD) in the relationship between sustainability and financial performance. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between sustainability performance and the level of SDGD; the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance; and the link between the level of SDGD and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: Conducted in Italy, the analysis involves manual collection of sustainability reports from company websites for the fiscal years from 2019 to 2022, followed by textual analysis to identify SDG-related content disclosed in nonfinancial reports. Financial and nonfinancial data from Orbis and LSEG databases are used for regression analysis on panel data. Findings: Findings align with existing literature, emphasizing the partial mediator role played by the level of SDGD in the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance, measured by return on equity. In addition, the study suggests that there is a positive relationship between sustainability performance and the level of SDGD and a positive relationship between the level of SDGD and financial performance. Originality/value: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how SDG disclosures function within the broader nexus of sustainability performance and financial outcomes. Findings from this study provide empirical support for the argument that SDGD is not merely a regulatory compliance tool but also a strategic asset that can enhance a firm’s financial performance.

Despite the recognized advantages of sustainability disclosure and transparency in reducing information asymmetries, the quality of sustainability reports often falls short. Measuring sustainability disclosure transparency is challenging due to its multidimensional nature, necessitating a comprehensive approach. Moreover, the impact of sustainability reporting transparency on firm performance remains ambiguous. Therefore, this study examines 177 reports from companies listed in the Dow Jones sustainability index (DJSI) World index, manually collecting information on transparency indicators and subdimensions. Grounded on the disclosure, clarity, and accuracy (DCA) framework introduced by Schnackenberg and Tomlinson, a factor analysis is conducted to construct the transparency index, followed by testing research hypotheses using a linear regression model via ordinary least squares (OLS). By providing a quantitative assessment of sustainability report transparency, this study investigates its influence on firm performance. Our findings support existing research linking firm performance to the transparency of sustainability reports. Surprisingly, contrary to expectations, our study reveals that increased transparency efforts are associated with lower firm performance.