Intangible Assets and Superior and Sustained Performance of Innovative Brazilian Firms
| Autor | Márcia Martins Mendes De Luca - Anna Beatriz Grangeiro Ribeiro Maia - Vanessa Ingrid da Costa Cardoso - Alessandra Carvalho de Vasconcelos - Jacqueline Veneroso Alves da Cunha |
| Cargo | Universidade Federal do Ceará, FEAAC/UFC - Universidade Federal do Ceará, UFC - Universidade Federal do Ceará, UFC - Universidade Federal do Ceará, UFC - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, FACE/UFMG |
Available online at
http://www.anpad.org.br/bar
BAR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 11, n. 4, art. 3,
pp. 407-440, Oct./Dec. 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692bar2014130012
Intangible Assets and Superior and Sustained Performance of
Innovative Brazilian Firms
Márcia Martins Mendes De Luca
E-mail address: marciammdeluca@gmail.com
Universidade Federal do Ceará – FEAAC/UFC
Av. da Universidade, 2431, 60020-180, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Anna Beatriz Grangeiro Ribeiro Maia
E-mail address: deluxedama@hotmail.com
Universidade Federal do Ceará – UFC
Av. da Universidade, 2431, 60020-180, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Vanessa Ingrid da Costa Cardoso
E-mail address: nessaingrid@gmail.com
Universidade Federal do Ceará –UFC
Av. da Universidade, 2431, 60020-180, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Alessandra Carvalho de Vasconcelos
E-mail address: alevasconcelos.ufc@gmail.com
Universidade Federal do Ceará –UFC
Av. da Universidade, 2431, 60020-180, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Jacqueline Veneroso Alves da Cunha
E-mail address: jvac@face.ufmg.br
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – FACE/UFMG
Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Received 20 August 2013; received in revised form 21 June 2014 (this paper has been with the
authors for three revisions); accepted 23 June 2014; published online 1st October 2014.
M. M. M. De Luca, A. B. G. R. Maia, V. I. da C. Cardoso, A. C. de Vasconcelos, J. V. A. da Cunha 408
BAR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 11, n. 4, art. 3, pp. 407-440, Oct./Dec. 2014 www.anpad.org.br/bar
Abstract
According to the Resource-Based View, the nature of the resources, competences and knowledge accumulated by
firms are the major causes of variation in business performance. In view of the importance attributed to intangible
assets, the purpose of t he present study was to investigate whether innovative firms with superior and sustained
performance and firms without superior and sustained performance differ with regard to investments in intangible
assets. The sample consisted of 137 firms listed on the Brazilian stock exchange from 2007 to 2010 and belonging
to innovative sectors according to the Brazilian Innovation Index. Only 51 firms with profitability above the sector
average during the entire study period (four years) met the criterion of superior and sustained performance. Thus,
using return on assets as a proxy for performance, investments in intangibles were found to be greater in firms
without superior and sustained performance, particularly with regard to the categories intellectual property assets
(the predominant category) and infrastructure assets. Based on the lack of evidence for a significant correlation
between corporate performance and investment in intangible assets, our initial hypothesis that a positive relation
exists between the composition of investments in intangible assets and the performance of innovative firms could
not be confirmed.
Key words: resource-based view; intangible assets; business performance; superior and sustained performance;
innovative firms.
Intangible Assets and Superior and Sustained Performance 409
BAR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 11, n. 4, art. 3, pp. 407-440, Oct./Dec. 2014 www.anpad.org.br/bar
Introduction
Scholars have long discussed the characteristics and peculiarities of firms which display superior
and sustained performance. Many theories have been put forth to identify the determining factors and
basic characteristics required to measure and improve business performance. One such theory is the
Resource-Based View (RBV), according to which the nature of a firm’s resources and accumulated
competences are the main cause of variation in performance. To Barney (1991), tangible and intangible
resources, combined with competences and controlled by the firm, make it possible to create and
implement efficient strategies capable of producing organizational improvements in the long run. Thus,
differences in performance between organizations derive from the heterogeneity of their resources
(Peteraf, 1993). Scholars such as Wernerfelt (1984), Barney (1991), Peteraf (1993), Teece, Pisano and
Shuen (1997) and Penrose (2006) defend the adoption of RBV tenets to maintain long-term sustainable
competitive advantage.
Seen from this perspective, resources and competences are distributed heterogeneously among
the firms of a given sector as a result of differences in each firm’s history and background. Each firm’s
uniqueness makes it difficult to replicate its resources by acquisition or substitution, creating a potential
for competitive advantage (Barney, 1991) and, consequently, superior and sustained performance, at
least until its competitors obtain a comparable array of resources (Brito & Vasconcelos, 2004; Carvalho,
Kayo, & Martín, 2010).
Intangible assets are resources and competences which may be combined to boost corporate
performance. Iudícibus, Martins, Gelbcke, and Santos (2013) point out that while tangible assets are
visually identifiable and segregated items in accounting, intangible assets may not be so. Brazilian
legislation (Lei n. 11.638, 2007) considers intangible assets incorporeal property destined and used for
the maintenance of the firm. In 2008, during the convergence on international accounting standards, the
Brazilian Accounting Pronouncements Committee published Technical Statement #4 (Comitê de
Pronunciamentos Contábeis [CPC], 2008), subsequently modified by CPC #4/R1/2010 (CPC, 2010),
defining intangible assets as identifiable non-monetary assets without physical substance. It should be
pointed out that the adoption of international accounting standards in Brazil, starting in 2007, is reflected
in the peculiar way in which intangible assets are incorporated in the structure of the balance sheet,
where they are given the status of noncurrent assets, and in the way their fair value is determined, which
in turn influences the way the indicators of an organization’s assets are calculated.
Hoog (2008) sees intangible assets as property without physical substance, the useful life of which
tends to be subjective, varying according to the rights resulting from ownership and the associated
competitive advantages and profits, which may be acquired or developed internally.
To Edvinsson and Malone (1998), Stewart (1999) and Santos and Schmidt (2002), intangible
assets are synonymous with intellectual capital or knowledge assets. They add value to the organization
and are part of its base of knowledge and information. Thus, for the purpose of this study, the expressions
knowledge management, knowledge assets, intangible assets, intangible capital, intangible resources,
intellectual capital, goodwill, occult capital, invisible assets and intellectual property refer to the same
type of asset, as shown by similarities between the definitions proposed by different authors (Antunes,
2006; Brooking, 1996; Carvalho & Ensslin, 2006; Edvinsson & Malone, 1998; Kaufmann & Schneider,
2004; Lev, 2001; Petty & Guthrie, 2000; Rezende, 2001; Stewart, 1999; Sveiby, 1997).
With regard to the strategic role of intellectual capital and knowledge management, Rezende
(2001, p. 17) stated that “knowledge management is the process of creating value through the use of the
organization’s intangible assets; it is the transformation of information into knowledge, and of
knowledge into business”. This is the definition adopted in our study.
Regardless of the nomenclature and definitions assigned to intangible assets, in the perspective
of RBV this type of asset is generally seen as the main source of competitive advantage because it is
inimitable, specific, rare and valuable for the organization (Teixeira & Popadiuk, 2003). The
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