Who Shall Get More? How Intangible Assets and Aspiration Levels Affect the Valuation of Resources

Abstract

Combining findings from the research streams on intangible assets and problemistic search, we develop a framework to explain the valuation of resources by organizations. Similar to search behavior and resource acquisition patterns, we expect organizations to value resources more as they encounter problems those resources can help solve. We study this by considering two intangible assets, reputation and status, brought by resource providers to organizations, and two outcomes, product quality and revenues. Building on recent research that has found reputation to be more closely tied to product quality, and status to be more closely tied to revenues, we expect organizations to value resource providers possessing an intangible asset more as they encounter performance problems on the outcome more closely tied to that particular asset. Furthermore, we also expect this sensitivity to manifest itself primarily when the organization has a low stock of the particular intangible asset they are in need of. We find support for our hypotheses in a sample of NBA players and teams.