Determinants of Human Resource Disclosure in Corporate Annual Reports: Empirical Evidence from India.

The paper examines the extent of human resource (HR) disclosure in annual reports of 50 companies listed on Indian stock exchanges and the impact of four company-specific factors (determinants) on such disclosure. HR disclosure level was measured using an unweighted disclosure index comprising 76 information items. The study reveals that average level of HR disclosure (54.64%) in India is inadequate. It is evident from range (59%) and standard deviation (11.58%) that there exists a wide variation in the extent of overall HR disclosure of sample companies. The results of multivariate regression show that out of four selected company-specific factors, size of company and company’s age are statistically significant, having positive and negative impact, respectively, on the extent of HR disclosure in India. The remaining two company characteristics, namely, profitability and dominance of independent directors on corporate board, are found to be statistically insignificant. The impact of each factor on HR disclosure level has been analyzed and interpreted. Finally, research implications and policy recommendations of the study have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]