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Intangible Investment and Firm Performance

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  • Nathan Chappell
  • Adam B. Jaffe

Abstract

We combine survey and administrative data for about 13,000 New Zealand firms from 2005 to 2013 to study intangible investment and firm performance. We find that firm size and moderate competition is associated with higher intangible investment, while firm age is associated with lower intangible investment. Examining firm performance, we find that higher investment is associated with higher labour and capital input, higher revenue, and higher firm-reported employee and customer satisfaction, but not with higher productivity or profitability. The evidence suggests that intangible investment is associated with growth and 'soft' performance objectives, but not with productivity or profitability.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathan Chappell & Adam B. Jaffe, 2018. "Intangible Investment and Firm Performance," NBER Working Papers 24363, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24363
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    Cited by:

    1. Qing Li & Long Hai Vo, 2021. "Intangible Capital and Innovation: An Empirical Analysis of Vietnamese Enterprises," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 21-02, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    2. Ryota Nakatani, 2019. "Firm performance and corporate finance in New Zealand," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(13), pages 1118-1124, July.
    3. Roth, Felix & Sen, Ali & Rammer, Christian, 2021. "Intangible Capital and Firm-Level Productivity – Evidence from Germany," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 9, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.
    4. He, Qiuqin & Guijarro-Garcia, Maria & Costa-Climent, Juan, 2022. "Impact of knowledge-based capital on firm productivity: The contingent effect of ownership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 85-94.
    5. Boyan Jovanovic & Sai Ma, 2022. "Uncertainty and Growth Disasters," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 33-64, April.
    6. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2023. "Aid for Trade flows, Patent Rights Protection and Total Factor Productivity," EconStor Preprints 274650, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Mike Onder Kaymaz & Ilker Yilmaz & Ozgur Kaymaz, 2019. "The Impact Of Intangible Factors On Profitability: Evidence From Corporations Traded At Muscat Securities Market In Oman," Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 8(2), pages 25-47.
    8. Hyuk Chung, 2021. "Adoption and Development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology: Features and Determinants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    9. Richard Fabling, 2021. "Living on the edge: An anatomy of New Zealand’s most productive firms," Working Papers 21_01, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    10. Hiroki, Takashi & Iwatsubo, Kentaro & Watkins, Clinton, 2022. "Does firm-level productivity predict stock returns?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Cristiano Antonelli & Gianluca Orsatti & Guido Pialli, 2023. "The effects of the limited exhaustibility of knowledge on firm size and the direction of technological change," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1359-1385, August.
    12. Carsten Fink & Bronwyn H. Hall & Christian Helmers, 2018. "Intellectual Property Use in Middle Income Countries: The Case of Chile," NBER Working Papers 24348, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Klaus Friesenbichler & Agnes Kügler & Julia Schieber-Knöbl, 2022. "Wie viel wird in Wissenskapital von österreichischen Unternehmen investiert?. Evidenz von Mikrodaten," WIFO Research Briefs 23, WIFO.
    14. Shenglang Yang & Yixiao Zhou & Ligang Song, 2018. "Determinants of Intangible Investment and Its Impacts on Firms' Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Private Manufacturing Firms," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 26(6), pages 1-26, November.
    15. Charlotte Emlinger & Sébastien Jean & Vincent Vicard, 2019. "L’étonnante atonie des exportations françaises : retour sur la compétitivité et ses déterminants," CEPII Policy Brief 2019-24, CEPII research center.
    16. Richard Harris & Astrid Krenz & John Moffat, 2021. "The Effects of Absorptive Capacity on Innovation Performance: A Cross‐country Perspective," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 589-607, May.
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    18. Yehui Tong & Zelia Serrasqueiro, 2020. "The Influential Factors on Capital Structure: A Study on Portuguese High Technology and Medium-High Technology Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(4), pages 23-35, July.
    19. Mattia Di Ubaldo & Iulia Siedschlag, 2021. "Investment in Knowledge‐Based Capital and Productivity: Firm‐Level Evidence from a Small Open Economy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(2), pages 363-393, June.
    20. Ryota Nakatani, 2023. "Does debt maturity influence productivity?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(1), pages 116-136.
    21. Wolfhard Kaus & Viktor Slavtchev & Markus Zimmermann, 2024. "Intangible capital and productivity: Firm-level evidence from German manufacturing," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(4), pages 970-996.
    22. Roth, Felix, 2019. "Intangible Capital and Labour Productivity Growth: A Review of the Literature," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 4, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm

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