BOARD CAPABILITY, INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION DISCLOSURE IN LISTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The present empirical study assessed the combined effect of board capability (BC) and firm intellectual capital (IC) on the disclosure of forward-looking information (FLI) in 30 manufacturing companies based in Nigeria during the years 2015- 2024. Panel data obtained from the annual report based on content-analysis were employed. Board capability and intellectual capital were operationalised as non-tradable strategic resources, the value of which is reflected through plausible forward-looking disclosures. In order to deal with endogeneity, the analysis utilised Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE). The findings show that board independence (z?= 3.07, p <0.05) and board gender (z = 2.01, p< 0.05) had a strong positive impact on FLI. In addition, interaction of both board independence and human capital (z?=?3.21, p?<?0.05) andboard meetings and relational capital with the FLI disclosure was positively and significantly correlated.The research makes contributions to the body of literature on various fronts. It is theoretically an extension of the Resource-Based View because it demonstrates the manner in which the intangible resources determine the effect of disclosure, and not just the performance of the firm. It also contributes to Signaling Theory by establishing that the attributes of governance and intellectual capital can be used as credibility-enhancing mechanisms of forward-looking disclosures. The empirical evidence on the complementary role of board independence and human capital in predicting the quality of disclosure is scarce and empirically provided through interaction in thisstudy. Contextually, it has added value to the scanty body of evidence on the African capital markets, which provide information about how firms with high information asymmetry can use the governance capability and intellectual capital to provide future projections to their stakeholders.