Many managers have been looking forward to when they can track information about their intangible assets — for example, the value of their brands or the quality of their human talent — as easily as they monitor cash flow and market share.1 Inspired by the works of strategy theorists such as Robert Kaplan and David Norton, they have anticipated a day when it would be possible to keep track of customer sentiments, innovation and employee skills with real-time data, just as they manage profit and loss.2 Whether managers are aware of it or not, that day is almost here. Thanks to advances in information technology, managers of consumer-oriented businesses have the ability to track not only the percentage of satisfied customers but also the reasons why people are satisfied or dissatisfied. Companies in other industries can use IT and industry data for their own purposes — for instance, to follow opportunities for patent licensing or acquisitions. Despite the potential, most managers have been slow to respond. Few have begun even to scratch the surface in seizing the opportunities that information about intangible assets offers.
Different companies, of course, have different types of intangible assets. The most common include licenses, franchises, patents, trademarks, brands, knowhow, market competences and human resources. For many companies, the mix of intangibles represents a large... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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