Fachartikel
Hurdles for the Voluntary Disclosure Of Information on Intangibles

Hurdles for the Voluntary Disclosure Of Information on Intangibles

Empirical Results for “New Economy” Industries

Intangible resources are gaining increasing importance in western economies. Our paper is focusing
on possibilities and limits of reporting on intangible resources seen from the company’s
point of view. We examine 343 German listed corporations of the German C-DAX
indices for industries where intangible resources play a significant role for the business models
of the companies. The study analyses the relevance of intangible resources in relation to
tangible and financial resources for the company’s strategy based on Porter’s concepts of the
value chain and the competitive forces (relevance). The relevance of intangibles is compared
with the intensity of the focus within the company’s internal control system. In the third step,
the importance within the (external) reporting system is considered (disclosure). Finally the
company’s perception of the sensitivity regarding information about intangible resources on
the capital market is analysed.