The impact of intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance practices on the cost of finance: Tunisian evidence

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) and corporate governance practices on the cost of finance. The sample consists of 27 Tunisian listed companies over a five-year period (2010-2014). Results show that intellectual capital disclosure is negatively and significantly associated with the cost of debt (COD) and the cost of equity capital (COEC). In contrast, only some corporate governance mechanisms namely managerial ownership (MO) and ownership concentration (OC) may influence the interest rate required by investors. These findings has policy implications for managers in the Tunisian setting and other developing economies similar to Tunisia, given the crucial role played by intellectual capital as a primary source of competitive advantage.