Modified VAIC model: measuring missing components information and treatment of exogenous factors

Abstract

PurposeValue-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) is extensively used as a measure of intellectual capital (IC), but it is criticized for not capturing the totality of IC. Therefore, this study aims to analyse critiques of the original VAIC and proposes a modified VAIC by adding missing IC components and adjusting for exogenous factors. The study uses a modified VAIC model to investigate the relationship between IC, firm performance (FP) and market value (MV) for US non-financial firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed fundamental data of US non-financial firms listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ from 1980 to 2019. A final sample consisted of 6,019 firms and 62,686 firm-year observations.FindingsThe results provide a significant positive effect of aggregate and components of modified VAIC on FP and MV. Moreover, results validate the modified VAIC model and find that the modified VAIC explains changes in shareholders' MV. In addition, findings indicate that modified VAIC serves as an additional intangible factor to explain firms' capital structure decisions.Practical implicationsThe findings have important implications for management, owners, researchers and investors.Originality/valueThe modified VAIC model differs from the original VAIC model in four ways: first, it corrects the measurement of structural capital efficiency (SCE) following the accounting principle. Second, it replaces SCE with innovation capital efficiency (InVCE) and relational capital efficiency (RCE) to account for missing components of information of structural capital (SC). Third, the modified VAIC model adjusts for exogenous factors like business cycles and cross-industry variations. Finally, with the addition of InVCE and RCE as components of SCE, innovation capital (InVC) and relational capital (RC) are added to the calculation of value-added (VA) as components of IC.