Human resources disclosure in Danish intellectual capital statements : Enhancing comparability of business models a decade ago

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the human resources disclosure in Danish Intellectual Capital Statements to determine if these disclosures enhance the comparability of business model performance among companies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies the Danish Intellectual Capital Statements Analysis Model to five Danish companies' intellectual capital statements. This analysis reveals the extent to which these companies report human resources in their disclosures. The analysis also reveals how such disclosures can be used to make internal comparisons year‐to‐year as well as to make comparisons among companies. The five companies were analysed systematically using the same methodology. Findings – The paper shows that it is feasible to analyse intellectual capital statements systematically and to compare corporate business models. In addition, the paper shows that intellectual capital statements, which convey company‐specific information on human resources, play a role in corporate value creation. Practical implications – The paper shows that intellectual capital statements guidelines can be useful in the description of business models and in the analysis of the role of human resources disclosure in corporate value creation. Originality/value – The contribution of the paper is its use of intellectual capital statements guidelines as a methodology for analysing the role of human resources disclosure in corporate value creation. This methodology has application in the development of the integration of business model measurement performance with traditional corporate financial reporting.