Investigating the value and efficiency of intellectual capital

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide an empirical view of the present state of intellectual capital (IC) in Finnish companies. It also examines the relationship between the concepts value of IC and efficiency of IC.Design/methodology/approachCalculated Intangible Value (CIV), which measures the monetary value of IC, and Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM), which describes how a company's IC adds value to the company, were applied to approximately 20,000 companies per year during the period 2001‐2003 and studied using correlation analysis.FindingsValue and efficiency of IC are described in 11 industries in both SMEs and large companies. The theoretically unclear relationship between the value and efficiency of IC remains vague even after the empirical analysis. Calculating the value of IC in relative terms by dividing the value of a company's IC by the value of its tangible assets was found to be illustrative in comparing different industries.Research limitations/implicationsThe measures used are based on financial statement information and their validity is questionable. However, the large set of data examined has a positive effect on the reliability of the study.Practical implicationsThe results in this paper highlight the absolute or relative value, and thus importance, of IC for a company, depending on the industry.Originality/valueThe industry level analysis of IC and the implementation of scarcely used CIV measure in a large set of companies enhance the existing knowledge of the measurement of IC. The analysis of the relationship between CIV and VAICTM measures has not previously been done.