Strategic characteristics of intangible assets and the company's economic performance Marcelo Monteiro Perez, Rubem Famá

Abstract

The globalization of economies and advances in information technology are intensifying competition between companies, forcing them to increasingly differentiate themselves from their competitors. Intangible assets such as brands, patents, intellectual capital or copyrights, for example, are unique assets, generally derived from innovation and knowledge, whose unique characteristics could allow companies to differentiate themselves and obtain competitive advantages that are very difficult to eliminate. Research shows that companies are using strategic and innovative combinations of tangible and intangible assets, and that the generation of wealth in companies is increasingly related to intangible assets. The objectives of this article are to present the strategic characteristics of intangible assets and to verify the existence of a possible correlation between the greater presence of intangible assets and superior economic performance in companies, demonstrating statistically whether intangible assets can be responsible for greater generation of value for shareholders. The results obtained with hundreds of companies are significant and prove the existence of this correlation.