Value relevance of voluntary human capital disclosure: European evidence

Abstract

This study examines the value relevance of voluntary human capital disclosure (VHCD) in 32 European markets during the period between 1997 and 2012. VHCD allows capital market participants to evaluate the intellectual capital of disclosing firms by allowing them to assess the competitiveness of firm’s human resource strategy and the productivity of workforce vis-à-vis the benchmark. The results provide strong evidence suggesting that market participants consider VHCD to be value relevant and incorporate changes in labor cost information into their pricing decisions.