Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on Indian traditional sector and compare the relative importance of IC on corporate performance of Indian knowledge-based sector (engineering sector) and traditional sector (steel sector). Design/methodology/approach Secondary data on 100 listed Indian firms, comprising of 44 firms from the engineering sector and 56 from the steel sector, are collected from “Capitaline Plus” Corporate database for a period of 14 years from 1999-2000 to 2012-2013. IC and its components are computed using Pulic’s value-added intellectual coefficient model and firm performance is measured by return on asset. Fixed effect regression model is used to investigate the hypothetical relationship between IC and firm performance. Further, quantile regression is used to check the robustness of the results. Findings The results indicate that IC efficiency and physical capital efficiency are positively and significantly associated with the firm performance for both the sectors. Regarding the components of IC, the coefficient of human capital efficiency is positive and significant, but the present effort fails to disentangle any significant influence of structural capital efficiency on firm performance. However, the results indicate that the influence of IC efficiency on firm performance is significantly greater in case of knowledge-based sector than that of traditional sector. Practical implications The findings of the study are useful for the decision makers, as the results indicate that the IC plays crucial role in value creation not only for knowledge-based firms but also for the firms belonging to the traditional manufacturing sector. Originality/value In the Indian context, this is the first study to examine the relative importance of IC in a knowledge-based sector and a traditional sector using appropriate methodology.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the disclosure pattern of corporate sustainability (CS) and the influence of sustainability reporting on firm performance of four countries in Asia – Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and India. Design/methodology/approach The authors have collected the sustainability reports and annual reports of 111 firms from four Asian countries for a period of six years. Based on the framework of Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI, 3 and 3.1), content analysis is used for calculating the disclosure score of corporate sustainability performance (CSP). These scores are further used to examine the impact on firm performance by employing a panel data regression model. Findings The study finds that the average level and quality of disclosure are the highest for Japanese firms, followed by India and South Korea. However, in the case of Indonesia, the average score is very low. Further, the study finds a significant difference in the disclosure of overall sustainability as well as components of sustainability between the countries. The regression results indicate the positive impact of CSP (both in terms of level and quality) on MBR. Specifically, the outcome of the regression model reveals that both the level and quality disclosure of CS are crucial for enhancing firm value for both the developed and developing countries of Asia. Moreover, the relative influence of CSP (both in terms of level and quality) on firm performance is found to be more in developed countries than the developing countries of Asia. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive study in the Asian context to investigate the disclosure pattern of CSP and also examine the association between CSP and firm performance by employing the panel data model. The outcome of this study is useful for policy implication.

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the association between regulatory capital and risk of Indian commercial banks and the impacts of other relevant variables on them. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a secondary data set on Indian commercial banks collected from “Capitaline Plus” corporate database and annual reports of the respective banks. Total 41 major Indian banks (21 public and 20 private sector banks) are considered in this study. Here absolute values of capital and risk are used as dependent variables along with some relevant bank specific explanatory variables in a system of a two-equation model. Based on the nature of interrelationship and identifiability of the equations, three-stage least squares (3SLS) technique is used to estimate the relationship. Findings – Risk and capital of Indian commercial banks are inversely associated. The influence of profitability on both capital and risk is significantly positive. Moreover, human capital efficiency is negatively associated with the undertaking of risk by the banks. In this respect, Indian private sector banks are found to be more efficient in utilizing human capital for reducing credit risk. Originality/value – It is the first comparative study in India examining the relationship between capital and risk of Indian public and private sector commercial banks covering both Basel I and II periods. Further, the role of human resource in managing risk is considered as a relevant variable in this study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate empirically the validity of the basic propositions of value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and extend VAIC models in Indian knowledge-based sector. Using panel data relating to 62 firms from two Indian knowledge-based sectors, namely, electronics and banking sectors, for a period of 10 years (from 2001–2002 to 2010–2011), the study indicates that the VAIC model cannot be rejected as a technique of measuring intellectual capital. The result shows that VAIC significantly and positively influences the corporate performance measured by return on assets (ROA) and market-to-book (M/B) ratio. All the components of VAIC except structural capital (SC) efficiency (SCE) significantly and positively influence the corporate performance. The insignificant association between SCE and firm performance, as observed in the present context and also observed earlier by many researchers, may be regarded as the inappropriateness of the model in capturing structural capital. In order to modify the SC component of the model, the components of extended VAIC model may be used as a value-creating entity.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a crucial research domain over the last decade due to the imperative that when CSR activities are communicated in the form of a report, it helps in improving firm performance. Thus, the main purpose of the present study is to analyse CSR disclosure trend in India and to investigate the association between CSR and the performance of the firm from 2008-2009 to 2013-2014. Content analysis is employed using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework as a base to calculate the disclosure score relating to CSR and its components, that is, human related (HR) information, society related (SO) information and product related (PR) information. Firm performance is measured by Market to Book Ratio (MBR). CSR disclosure score is found to be increasing over the study period and regarding the components of CSR, the disclosure score of SO is found to be the highest (nearly 89 per cent) followed by HR (nearly 84 per cent) and PR (nearly 83 per cent). These scores are further utilised to find the influence of CSR (including its components) on firm performance using random generalised least squares (GLS) model. The results of the regression model indicate positive and significant impact of CSR (including its components) on firm performance.