Importance of coding pictures in ICR content analyses

The coding of pictures appears to have been excluded in prior Intellectual Capital Reporting (ICR) content analysis research. Pictorial information was included in a content analysis conducted to investigate voluntary ICR practice in New Zealand firms’ annual reports. The results show that pictures influence the understanding of how and what Intellectual Capital (IC) is reported: more than one-third of IC information is reported through pictures, and IC items mostly reported when pictures are included are different to those when pictures are excluded. Sampled firms use pictures especially to convey messages about IC resources in the human capital category that co-exist and are difficult to separate. To advance ICR research this paper promotes including pictures when applying content analysis to investigate ICR practices. Consistent application of methodological issues is crucial for making meaningful comparisons between studies’ results. Hence, including pictures is important for understanding voluntary ICR practices in annual reports.