Title: The impact of intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance practices on the cost of finance: Tunisian evidence

Authors: Mariem Bouchareb; Mondher Kouki

Addresses: The International Finance Group, Faculty of Management and Economics Sciences of Tunis, University Campus, B.P. 248, El Manar II, Tunis 2092, Tunisia ' The International Finance Group, Faculty of Management and Economics Sciences of Tunis, University Campus, B.P. 248, El Manar II, Tunis 2092, Tunisia

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) and corporate governance practices on the cost of finance. The sample consists of 27 Tunisian listed companies over a five-year period (2010-2014). Results show that intellectual capital disclosure is negatively and significantly associated with the cost of debt (COD) and the cost of equity capital (COEC). In contrast, only some corporate governance mechanisms namely managerial ownership (MO) and ownership concentration (OC) may influence the interest rate required by investors. These findings has policy implications for managers in the Tunisian setting and other developing economies similar to Tunisia, given the crucial role played by intellectual capital as a primary source of competitive advantage.

Keywords: intellectual capital disclosure; ICD; corporate governance; cost of debt; COD; cost of equity capital; COEC; Tunisia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2019.097811

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2019 Vol.18 No.1/2, pp.151 - 169

Received: 15 Feb 2018
Accepted: 17 Sep 2018
Published online: 11 Feb 2019 *

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